Harvard Art Museums > 2006.16.5: “Pan”, folio from the album Fishes of India Drawings Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"“Pan”, folio from the album Fishes of India , 2006.16.5,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 22, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/4855. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2006.16.5 Title “Pan”, folio from the album Fishes of India Classification Drawings Work Type drawing Date c. 1810 Places Creation Place: South Asia, India, Bengal Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/4855 Physical Descriptions Medium Watercolor and gouache on Whatman paper; Company School Dimensions 28.58 x 48.26 cm (11 1/4 x 19 in.) Inscriptions and Marks inscription: Language: English Script: 32/31 Pan (in pencil) ? (in ink) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Victoria S. Munroe Accession Year 2006 Object Number 2006.16.5 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description The fish is painted in the center of the page, and from a bird’s-eye view. It is teardrop shaped, with a round head and tapering tail. The fish has two round eyes and a curved, triangular snout. It has a continuous row of lateral fins that extend the entire length of the body and taper into the tail. It is light brown in color with some mottling. The page has inscriptions in ink and pencil the lower third of the composition. One inscription identifies the fish as “Pan”, which most likely is referring to Brachirus pan, a type of sole native to the Indo-Pacific. This work falls into the genre of natural history documentation, an important enterprise undertaken by many European patrons during their time in India. This genre proliferated between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, and demonstrate the artist's intention of making quick studies from life. Individual paintings were collected to form an album that documented a variety of animals and plants, thus acting, in a way, as a field guide. Company School. 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
