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Portrait of an Indian Dervish from Lucknow

Watercolour
1852 (Painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Islamic world has no monastic tradition but certain of its holy men have always embraced poverty in order to intensify their vision of God. Some travelled great distances and lived by requesting alms which it was the duty of the devout to give. There were many different kinds of dervishes (literally those who have renounced the world) and they were often credited with extraordinary powers, such as healing and magic. The artist has not indicated what brought this dervish all the way from Lucknow, the historic capital of the province of Oudh in northern India.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitlePortrait of an Indian Dervish from Lucknow
Materials and techniques
Pencil, water- and body colour touched with white
Brief description
Portrait of an Indian Dervish from Lucknow, 1852. Aloysius Rosarius Amadeus Raymondus Andreas, known as Amadeo, 5th Count Preziosi
Physical description
Watercolour of a seated man holding a begging bowl.
Dimensions
  • Height: 27.5cm
  • Width: 21.5cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
Dervisce Indiana di Luckno 10 giugno l852
Translation
Indian Dervish from Lucknow 10 June 1852
Object history
This is one of a group of 31 portraits, acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1900. They were once assembled in an album, but whether by Preziosi himself, or a member of his family, or subsequently, is not known.
Subject depicted
Place depicted
Summary
The Islamic world has no monastic tradition but certain of its holy men have always embraced poverty in order to intensify their vision of God. Some travelled great distances and lived by requesting alms which it was the duty of the devout to give. There were many different kinds of dervishes (literally those who have renounced the world) and they were often credited with extraordinary powers, such as healing and magic. The artist has not indicated what brought this dervish all the way from Lucknow, the historic capital of the province of Oudh in northern India.
Bibliographic reference
Llewellyn, Briony and Newton, Charles. The People and Places of Constantinople : watercolours by Amadeo Count Preziosi 1816-1882. London, Victori & Albert Museum, 1985
Collection
Accession number
D.20-1900

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
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