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Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1781-1826) was a famous colonial administrator and founder of Singapore (1819).
Collection of drawings and watercolours from the Raffles Family Collection by Chinese, circa 1824
© British Library
Details
- Medium:
- Watercolour on paper Dimensions: various dimensions
- Art Fund grant:
- £114,814 ( Total: £386,392; Tax remission)
- Acquired in:
- 2006
- Vendor:
- Michael Stewart
He was a passionate student of natural history and amassed a great collection of specimens and drawings. Most of these drawings and watercolours were commissioned while Raffles was Governor of Bencoolen (Bengkulu) in Sumatra, to replace an earlier collection lost in a fire at sea in 1824. The natural history subjects make up about three-quarters of the collection and are by anonymous Chinese (and possibly Malay) artists; the miscellaneous drawings include work by British, Dutch, and Asian artists.
Artists include
Provenance
Commissioned by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1824); by descent in the Raffles family to Michael Stewart; India Office Library (on loan since 1969).
Venue details
Entry details
Permanent collections are free to all.
Mon, Wed, Thu and Fri, 9.30am – 6pm
Tue, 9.30am – 8pm
Sat, 9.30am – 5pm
Sun, 11am – 5pm
Closed Christmas and Easter (check British Library website for further details).