Women depositing ritual objects around the catafalque of the Prince Regent's brother, Bangli Regency, Bali, by Elfrida Tharle-Hughes.

The picture depicts the deceased Prince lying in state prior to the ceremony of cremation. The dragon-like catafalque rests upon a raised staging beneath an awning of striped cloth; curtains of the same material are on each side of the bier. To the right, six women bring the offerings, a further group of which is on the left.

Given by the artist

Part of a series of drawings (IM.42 to 45-1928) in watercolours by Elfrida Tharle-Hughes depicting the cremation ceremonies of a prince and princess of Bangli State, Bali Island, Dutch East Indies.

According to the artist, the date of the actual cremation was 7th September, 1923, but the watercolours were done in London (from sketches of backgrounds and compositions done at the time in Bangli) in time for her exhibition at the Redfern Gallery in Bond Street, London in May 1925. The artist also claimed to be the first European artist who had been given full facilities for making paintings of this subject.

Elfrida Tharle-Hughes (1874-1950) was an English artist, born in Ryde, Isle of Wight on the 25th April 1874. She had two siblings, Esther (1871) and Reggie (1873). They were the only grand-children of Jabez Hughes (1819-84), Photographer to Queen Victoria whilst at Osborne House, and lived at Jabez’s photographic studio at 60-60 ½ Union Street, Ryde. Her family name was originally ‘Hughes’, added ‘Tharle’ in1921 in gratitude to her mother for the sacrifices she made bringing her up after their Father’s premature death at 35.

Elfrida received art training at the Slade School of Fine Art in London and ateliers in Paris. She spent two years travelling to Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, India, Burma, Thailand and Indonesia in the 1920s and had produced several drawings in watercolours, of which she donated five pictures to the V&A in 1928.

In the painting shown here, dating from 1923, the dragon-like catafalque rests upon a raised staging beneath an awning of striped cloth; curtains of the same material are on each side of the bier. To the right and left women bring offerings of holy water and sacred ornaments to the catafalque of the brother of the Prince Regent of Bangli State, Bali, a rite which precedes the royal cremation ceremony.

IM.43-1928