Harvard Art Museums > 2006.16.2: “Gainchie”, 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"“Gainchie”, folio from the album, Fishes of India , 2006.16.2,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 18, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/5290. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2006.16.2 Title “Gainchie”, folio from the album, Fishes of India Classification Drawings Work Type drawing Date c. 1810 Places Creation Place: South Asia, India, Bengal Culture Indian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/5290 Physical Descriptions Medium Watercolor and gouache on Whatman paper; Company School. Dimensions 28.58 x 48.26 cm (11 1/4 x 19 in.) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gweneth Knight Memorial Fund and the William M. Prichard Memorial Fund Accession Year 2006 Object Number 2006.16.2 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 At the center of the page is a long, narrow, lozenge-shaped fish. It has a pointed snout and its dorsal and abdominal fins are near the end of the body cavity, next to the base of the tail. Company School. The page contains marks in pencil and ink above and below the fish. The inscriptions identify the fish as Macrognathus pancalus, a barred spiny eel, which is a freshwater fish native to southern Asia. The term “gainchie” has been erroneously inscribed on the paper; it refers to “Ganchi”, or Macrognathus aculeatus, the lesser spiny eel. 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. Exhibition History 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/21/2015 - 11/03/2015 Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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
