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A Muslim Man and woman

Painting
ca. 1770 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

One of thirty-six paintings of castes and occupations of South India showing a man and wife with the attributes of their trade. Inscribed on border at bottom in English, with name of caste or occupation: all the paintings were mounted in an album with a watermark, J. Ruse 1799, and a bookplate bearing the name of Joseph Whatley and the Latin motto 'Pelle Timorem' (banish fear).
All the paintings have a red border, a strip of tangled cloud at the top, heavy looped shadows attached to the feet, and a dark green ground. However, they appear to be by three different hands: one with strongly-drawn figures against a Yellow background, one with more detailed figures against a deep blue background, and a third with weaker figures against green and blue backgrounds.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleA Muslim Man and woman (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Gouache
Brief description
Painting; Gouache, A Muslim Man and woman, Tanjore, ca. 1770
Physical description
One of thirty-six paintings of castes and occupations of South India showing a man and wife with the attributes of their trade. This one showing a Muslim man and his wife; the man, in a long white muslin 'jama', holding 'pan' and a watch; the woman, in an orange tie and dye (bandhana) sari and 'choli', holding a rose . against a grey background.
Dimensions
  • Height: 34cm
  • Width: 25cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
Inscribed:Moor-man & his wife.
Gallery label
(01/08/2017)
CASTES AND OCCUPATIONS
OF SOUTH INDIA
Unknown Indian artists
Opaque watercolour on paper
Tanjore (Thanjavur), Tamil Nadu
c. 1770
AL.9128:20, 29, 7, 30, 16
These five paintings are part of a set of 36, each depicting South Indian couples of different castes and occupations. This kind of generic portraiture was produced for Europeans in India during the 18th and 19th centuries. A form of tourist art, paintings like these reflected European curiosity about Indian culture. Today, these paintings give us valuable insights into production techniques that are no longer practised.
Summary
One of thirty-six paintings of castes and occupations of South India showing a man and wife with the attributes of their trade. Inscribed on border at bottom in English, with name of caste or occupation: all the paintings were mounted in an album with a watermark, J. Ruse 1799, and a bookplate bearing the name of Joseph Whatley and the Latin motto 'Pelle Timorem' (banish fear).
All the paintings have a red border, a strip of tangled cloud at the top, heavy looped shadows attached to the feet, and a dark green ground. However, they appear to be by three different hands: one with strongly-drawn figures against a Yellow background, one with more detailed figures against a deep blue background, and a third with weaker figures against green and blue backgrounds.
Bibliographic reference
Archer, Mildred. Company Paintings Indian Paintings of the British period Victoria and Albert Museum Indian Series London: Victoria and Albert Museum, Maplin Publishing, 1992, 45 p. ISBN 0944142303
Other number
9128 - Previous number
Collection
Accession number
AL.9128:7

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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