A Study of a Head of a Koonbie
Painting
ca. 1869 (made)
ca. 1869 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
John Griffiths was born in 1837. He studied at the Royal College of Art and then worked under Godfrey Sykes on the decorative work for the South Kensington Museum. One of his fellow assistants was John Lockwood Kipling, who became a life-long friend, and he was godfather to Kipling's son, Rudyard. The two of them were persuaded to go out to India on a three-year assignment, and in 1865 they sailed for Bombay, where they worked together for ten years at the Bombay School of Art. Griffiths undertook many commissions, including work on the Victoria Terminus and the High Court. After his decade in Bombay, Griffiths was appointed Principal of the Mayo School of Art and Curator of the Museum in Lahore, now in Pakistan. After his retirement in 1895, Griffiths lived firstly in Wales and then near Sherbourne in Dorset. He died in 1918. This painting depicts a kunbi (spelt 'koonbie' by the artist), the name of the cultivator class in Gujarat and the Konkan region (the equivalent of kurmi in north India).
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | A Study of a Head of a Koonbie (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in watercolour on tinted paper |
| Brief description | Painting, 'A Study of a Head of a Koonbie', painted in watercolour on tinted paper, Khandale, ca. 1869 |
| Physical description | Painting in watercolour on tinted paper, portrait of a man of the Kunbi (cultivator) caste, wearing a white wrapped garment and red hat. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Content description | Portrait of a man of the Kunbi (cultivator) caste. |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'JGriffiths Khandulla 1869 [?] | 3 - A Study of a Head of a Koonbie - Griffiths - Bombay' |
| Credit line | Purchased from A. Knapp Esq, Orchard House, Ramsden Crays, Essex |
| Object history | Made by John Griffiths, Principal of the Government School of Art, Bombay. Purchased from A. Knapp Esq, Orchard House, Ramsden Crays, Essex. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project. RP 1910- 4698 M |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | John Griffiths was born in 1837. He studied at the Royal College of Art and then worked under Godfrey Sykes on the decorative work for the South Kensington Museum. One of his fellow assistants was John Lockwood Kipling, who became a life-long friend, and he was godfather to Kipling's son, Rudyard. The two of them were persuaded to go out to India on a three-year assignment, and in 1865 they sailed for Bombay, where they worked together for ten years at the Bombay School of Art. Griffiths undertook many commissions, including work on the Victoria Terminus and the High Court. After his decade in Bombay, Griffiths was appointed Principal of the Mayo School of Art and Curator of the Museum in Lahore, now in Pakistan. After his retirement in 1895, Griffiths lived firstly in Wales and then near Sherbourne in Dorset. He died in 1918. This painting depicts a kunbi (spelt 'koonbie' by the artist), the name of the cultivator class in Gujarat and the Konkan region (the equivalent of kurmi in north India). |
| Bibliographic reference | Rohatgi P. and Parlett G., assisted by Imray S. and Godrej P. Indian Life and Landscape by Western Artists: Paintings and Drawings from the Victoria and Albert Museum, 17th to the early 20th century. Published by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, in association with V&A, London, 2008. ISBN 81-901020-9-5.
p. 326, pl. 44 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IM.347-1910 |
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| Record created | September 21, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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