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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2009.202.253
Title
Satirical Portrait of Four Ascetics
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
c. 1600
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India
Period
Mughal period
Culture
Mughal
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/216540

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Gray-black ink , watercolor and gold over traces of charcoal on off-white paper
Dimensions
21.7 x 20.2 cm (8 9/16 x 7 15/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Stuart Cary Welch (by 1983 - 2008,) by descent; to his estate (2008-2009,) gift; to Harvard Art Museum.

Notes:
Object was part of long-term loan to Museum in 1983.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Gift of Edith I. Welch in memory of Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck
Accession Year
2009
Object Number
2009.202.253
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Four ascetics of various ages are gathered around a tree in this drawing. Two accomplished yogis occupy the center of the composition, a bearded man with lengthy toenails and fingernails in deep concentration, and a younger man with elegant drapery who delicately fingers his prayer beads. They are attended by younger disciples with shaved heads that may indicate recent vows of renunciation. The acolytes' swollen, breath-filled bellies suggest the practice of yoga.

Publication History

  • Stuart Cary Welch and Kim Masteller, From Mind, Heart, and Hand: Persian, Turkish, and Indian Drawings from the Stuart Cary Welch Collection, exh. cat., Yale University Press (New Haven, 2004), pp.90-91, no. 22

Exhibition History

  • Portraiture in Iran and India, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 12/09/1983 - 02/01/1984
  • From Mind, Heart, and Hand: Persian, Turkish, and Indian Drawings from SCWelch, Harvard University Art Museums, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 03/19/2005 - 06/02/2005

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu