Colonel Mordaunt's Cock Match

Image credit: Tate

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This work, one of the liveliest pictures Zoffany produced during his six years in India, is an important record of British colonial life in that country in the late eighteenth century. While India was a common destination for British landscape painters and minor portraitists seeking new and stimulating experiences, it was unusual for an important portrait painter such as Zoffany to make the arduous journey. However, after earning the displeasure of Queen Charlotte over his 'Tribuna' picture, he found himself out of favour and new commissions were not forthcoming. He landed in Calcutta in September 1783. The painting depicts a cock match between Asaf-ud-daula, Nawab Wazir of Oudh (standing in the centre) and Colonel John Mordaunt (standing on the left in white), a keen cock-fighter who had brought out from England game-cocks which he was confident would defeat native-bred birds.

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More information
Title

Colonel Mordaunt's Cock Match

Date

c.1784–6

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 103.9 x W 150 cm

Accession number

T06856

Acquisition method

Purchased with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund, the Friends of the Tate Gallery and a group of donors 1994

Work type

Painting

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