Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at Young V&A
Imagine Gallery, Adventure, Case 10

Chowry or fly whisk ('Chamer')

Fly Whisk
ca. 1855 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Ceremonial fly whisks are emblems of royalty across the Indian subcontinent, regardless of the religious allegiance of the ruler, and are also used to indicate divinity. Thus, early Hindu and Jain sculptures often include attendants holding fly whisks next to the deity. Chauri - a plume of yak tail hair in an elaborate holder - are the most frequently used and depicted emblems of royalty. This example has a tail from a yak that would have been native to the Tibetan plateau, set in an opulent silver holder. The fly whisk was originally acquired by the Indian Museum in London in 1855, probably from the Paris exhibition of that year, and may have been made specifically as an exhibition piece. The brief accession record made by the Indian Museum gives its place of origin as Calcutta. The fly whisk was transferred to the South Kensington Museum in 1879.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleChowry or fly whisk ('Chamer') (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Yak's tail, silver handle
Brief description
Yak's tail with chased and engraved silver handle, Calcutta, India, c. 1850
Physical description
A yak's tail is mounted on a silver handle that is cast, chased and engraved
Ca. 1855.
Dimensions
  • Height: 108cm
  • Width: 40cm
  • Depth: 400mm
Gallery label
Swat, tickle, or sweep? So soft, so fluffy. This is a fly-whisk made from a yak’s tail. It was used to flap flies away from important people, but it also looks very tickly... [Young V&A, Imagine Gallery short object label](2023)
Object history
Probably bought from the Exposition Universelle, Paris in 1855 by the India Museum in Leadenhall Street, London. Transferred to the South Kensington Museum in 1879.

The hair or wool from tail of a yak that would have been from the Tibetan plateau is set in a handle. It is a fly whisk, representing a symbol of importance of the person over whom it was held. Chamer, Bengali for chowry, is also used during worship of a deity or shrine. The word 'chamer' is derived from 'chamri gai' meaning yak.
Summary
Ceremonial fly whisks are emblems of royalty across the Indian subcontinent, regardless of the religious allegiance of the ruler, and are also used to indicate divinity. Thus, early Hindu and Jain sculptures often include attendants holding fly whisks next to the deity. Chauri - a plume of yak tail hair in an elaborate holder - are the most frequently used and depicted emblems of royalty. This example has a tail from a yak that would have been native to the Tibetan plateau, set in an opulent silver holder. The fly whisk was originally acquired by the Indian Museum in London in 1855, probably from the Paris exhibition of that year, and may have been made specifically as an exhibition piece. The brief accession record made by the Indian Museum gives its place of origin as Calcutta. The fly whisk was transferred to the South Kensington Museum in 1879.
Bibliographic references
  • Arts of Bengal : the heritage of Bangladesh and eastern India : an exhibition organized by the Whitechapel Art Gallery in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum : 9 November-30 December 1979, Whitechapel Art Gallery ..., 12 January-17 February 1980, Manchester City Art Gallery ... . [London]: Whitechapel Art Gallery, [1979] Number: 085488047X (pbk.) : p.74
  • Skelton, Robert, et al, The Indian Heritage. Court life and Arts under Mughal Rule London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982 p. 156, cat. no. 524, Susan Stronge
  • Jackson, Anna and Ji Wei (eds.) with Rosemary Crill, Ainsley M. Cameron and Nicholas Barnard, compiled by the Palace Museum, translated by Yuan Hong, Qi Yue and Liu Ran. The Splendour of India' Royal Courts : Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Beijing: the Forbidden City Publishing House, 2013. Text in English and Chinese. ISBN 9787513403917. pps. 54 and 55
  • Swallow, D., Stronge, S., Crill, R., Koezuka, T., editor and translator, "The Art of the Indian Courts. Miniature Painting and Decorative Arts", Victoria & Albert Museum and NHK Kinki Media Plan, 1993. p. 142, cat. no. 125
Collection
Accession number
2491(IS)

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
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