Ganga
Painting
ca. 1885 (made)
ca. 1885 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Painting in opaque watercolour on paper, depicting the river goddess Ganga seated on a lotus flower and a fish.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Ganga (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in opaque watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, Ganga, opaque watercolour on paper, Kalighat, Kolkata, ca. 1885 |
| Physical description | Painting in opaque watercolour on paper, depicting the river goddess Ganga seated on a lotus flower and a fish. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Content description | The river goddess Ganga seated on a lotus flower and a fish. |
| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | (handwritten on object)
|
| Object history | Acquired from Miss M Steele as part of the collection inherited from her mother, a scholar in Sanskrit at Cambridge in 1894. When delivering the pictures, Miss Steele reported that her grandmother had also lived in India for some time and that it was possible that the pictures were originally collected by her. Historical significance: Calcutta was recognised as the Capital of British India from 1833-1912. By the 1830s, artists had arrived from rural villages in Bengal and began to produce paintings that reflected local history, mythology, customs and conflicts of a colonised society. As a popular art form, these artists are recognised for their use of brilliant colour, simplified images and swift brushstrokes that became the hallmark of Kalighat painting in the 19th and early 20th century. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Bibliographic reference | Archer, W G: 'Kalighat Paintings', V&A, 1971, p69, 25xxiv
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.557-1950 |
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| Record created | December 5, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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