The Hook-swinging Festival (Chadak parvan)
Painting
ca. 1798 - ca. 1804 (painted)
ca. 1798 - ca. 1804 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The pictures made by Indian artists for the British in India are called Company paintings. This one shows the climax of the charak pûjâ. This is a Bengali festival of penance, in which groups of men and women spend a month fasting from sunrise to sunset and living only on fruit. On the day of the charak itself, people construct bamboo stages on top of poles, at a height ranging from three to five metres. The devotees step up on to the high bamboo stage and, with ropes attached to them, hurl themselves forward.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Hook-swinging Festival (Chadak parvan) (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Painting; watercolour, hook-swinging festival (charak puja), Murshidabad, ca. 1798 - ca. 1804 |
| Physical description | The Hook-swinging festival (Chadak parvan). (charak puja) |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Purchased from Mr. T. Toon (or possibly Mr J.Joon), 38 Leicester Square |
| Object history | The date is confirmed by the inclusion of the sundial headdress worn by the Bengal Native Infantry, which was discontinued c.1800. Purchased from Mr. T. Toon (or possibly Mr J.Joon), 38 Leicester Square. 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. |
| Production | By an artist, probably from Murshidabad, working in Calcutta |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | The pictures made by Indian artists for the British in India are called Company paintings. This one shows the climax of the charak pûjâ. This is a Bengali festival of penance, in which groups of men and women spend a month fasting from sunrise to sunset and living only on fruit. On the day of the charak itself, people construct bamboo stages on top of poles, at a height ranging from three to five metres. The devotees step up on to the high bamboo stage and, with ropes attached to them, hurl themselves forward. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.11:37-1887 |
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| Record created | January 28, 2000 |
| Record URL |
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