2009.202.259: Portraits of Five Seated Englishmen

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2009.202.259

Title

Portraits of Five Seated Englishmen

Classification

Paintings

Work Type

painting

Date

19th century

Places

Creation Place: South Asia, India, Rajasthan, Kota

Culture

Indian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/216939

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Opaque watercolor on paper

Dimensions

21.5 x 30.3 cm (8 7/16 x 11 15/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Stuart Cary Welch (by 1973 - 2008,) by descent; to his estate (2008-2009,) gift; to Harvard Art Museum.

Notes:
Object was part of temporary loan to Museum in 1973.

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 Stuart Cary Welch

Accession Year

2009

Object Number

2009.202.259

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Commentary

Label text from exhibition “Company to Crown: Perceptions and Reactions in British India,” April 8–October 15, 2011, curated by Maliha Noorani, 2009–11 Norma Jean Calderwood Curatorial Fellow, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art, Harvard Art Museums:

Portraits of Five Seated Englishmen
Kota, Rajasthan, India, 19th century
Opaque watercolor on paper
Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Gift of Edith I. Welch in memory of Stuart Cary Welch, 2009.202.259

These two drawings offer a satirical view of the British through an Indian lens, as local artists responded to the growing presence and influence of the English in the time of the Crown Raj. Two European Men in White Hats portrays dandies with brilliant blue eyes and large ears, clad in pith helmets and white suits. Whereas earlier generations of British merchants and officers had adopted Indian ways, Company officers often wore full English dress despite the wilting heat in India.
Portraits of Five Seated Gentlemen may either be poking fun at its subjects or simply the whimsical result of a hybrid style. The men, wearing Western dress, are in mid-conversation, perched awkwardly on their chairs, legs askew. The pink tones of their faces are rendered sensitively in gouache technique, which was used widely in Mughal painting. But the artist’s attempt to convey three-dimensionality and volume reflects the growing interest in European style.

Exhibition History

• Re-View: S231 (Islamic rotation: 7) Company to Crown, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/08/2011 - 10/15/2011
• 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/04/2021 - 01/06/2022

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