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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2009.202.219
Title
Bankers Receive News from a Dak Runner
Other Titles
Alternate Title: A Dak Runner
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting
Date
c. 1850
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Uttar Pradesh
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/216949

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions
19 x 24 cm (7 1/2 x 9 7/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: Language: English
    “A Hukurah /dak runner/ delivering a letter to Shraffs /bankers/ of Nourie Hindoos.”

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 Stuart Cary Welch
Accession Year
2009
Object Number
2009.202.219
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Seated on a flat, white and indigo carpet are three Hindu bankers (shraffs) from the village of Noori, located in the Chandauli District of Uttar Pradesh State in India, working on their ledgers. The bankers wear red-orange turbans, white robes, and red-beaded necklaces. The one on the left has a distinct, long beard, and his large stomach is exposed. Standing next to this figure is a mail (dak) runner, distinguished by his spear and the messages in his hand. Mail runners not only delivered important messages, but also news from neighboring villages. The painting highlights the social distinctions between the bankers and the mail runner, as the latter is dressed more humbly in a sooty top and a dhoti, a garment worn by male Hindus, consisting of a piece of fabric tied around the waist and extending to cover most of the legs. The runner also wears a red-orange turban with a white band tied around it.
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:

Bankers Receive News from
a Dak Runner
India, c. 1850
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Gift of Edith I. Welch in memory of Stuart Cary Welch, 2009.202.219

In this painting Hindu bankers from the village of Nourie are seated on a flat-weave indigo-dyed carpet, at work at their ledgers, while a dak runner (mailman) stands by with a letter. The inscription reads: “A Hukurah [dak runner] delivering a letter to Shraffs [bankers] of Nourie Hindoos.”
The painting highlights the social distinctions between the humble dak runner, dressed in dingy colors, and the wealthy bankers garbed in saffron turbans, snow-white robes, and coral prayer beads. Coifing the bankers in saffron adds a touch of irony: in Hinduism, saffron is associated with then sacred as well as renunciation of the material world.

Publication History

  • Stuart Cary Welch, Room for Wonder : Indian Painting During the British Period, 1760-1880, exh. cat., American Federation of Arts (New York, NY, 1978), Page 166-167/Figure 72
  • Sir Roy Strong, The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts Under Mughal Rule, exh. cat., Balding + Mansell (London, England, 1982), page 55/figure 111

Exhibition History

  • Life at Court: Art for India's Rulers, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, 11/20/1985 - 02/09/1986; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, 03/14/1986 - 05/09/1986
  • Re-View: S231 (Islamic rotation: 7) Company to Crown, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/08/2011 - 10/15/2011

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