Robert Clive, Mir Muhammad Dja'far Khan and his son Mir Miran (Sadiq Ali Khan Bahadur), with a Number of British and Mughal Attendants, after the Battle of Plassey, 1757
Artist: Francis Hayman (English, (1708-1776)
Collection: National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Hayman’s painting is a design for a larger work that imagined the conclusion of the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The awkward elephant is one of many indications that Hayman did not witness the scene. (1725–74), of the East India Company, greets Mir Jafar (about 1691–1765), who commanded Bengal’s army on behalf of the Nawab (ruler). There was little fighting at Plassey, as Clive had negotiated Mir Jafar’s defection, thus securing control of Bengal. The treaty they signed delivered huge payments to the East India Company as well as to Clive, who used his position to amass an extraordinary fortune. He was appointed Governor of Bengal, serving twice between 1758 and 1767. The contemporary perception of his extreme wealth and offensive manner led to him being denounced in Parliament as a ‘corrupt Nabob’.
