2009.202.11: Peri Astride a Composite Camel Made of Three Female Dancers (pounce)

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2009.202.11

Title

Peri Astride a Composite Camel Made of Three Female Dancers (pounce)

Classification

Drawings

Work Type

drawing

Date

18th century

Places

Creation Place: South Asia, India, Rajasthan

Culture

Indian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/217482

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Ink and opaque watercolor on paper, with chalk rubbing; Rajput Style

Dimensions

17 x 16.2 cm (6 11/16 x 6 3/8 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

2009.202.11

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

A peri, a winged fairy-like spirit of Persian mythology, sits on top of a composite camel made up of three female dancers. The barefoot dancers wear large-leafed skirts and gold jewelry. Two dancers, whose legs act as the camel’s front and hind legs, hold the third dancer horizontally, so that she constitutes the camel’s body. Her legs are bent upward and her feet are in a large leaf boot shaped to look like a camel’s head. The peri sits on the shoulders of the standing dancer in the front. The peri carries reins in one hand and a whip in the other. She wears an ornate crown and has a gold halo behind her head. Rajput Style.

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