An Afghan Sirdar [officer] and a British soldier, 1841 (c)

Watercolour on Oriental paper, by an Afghan artist.

This painting is by an Afghan artist and was painted around the time of the First Afghan War (1838-1842) for an unknown Afghan patron. It shows a mounted Afghan sirdar with a British soldier. It was found by Major-General Sir (later Field Marshal Lord) Frederick Roberts in Amir Sher Ali's palace in Kabul in October 1879, during the Second Afghan War (1878-1880). Roberts was so taken with his discovery that he had two of his officers paint a version with the British and Afghan roles reversed, with a Trooper of the 9th (Queen's Royal) Lancers riding alongside a running Afghan soldier.