Harvard Art Museums > 2006.16.4: “Manua”, 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"“Manua”, folio from the album Fishes of India , 2006.16.4,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 18, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/5294. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2006.16.4 Title “Manua”, 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/5294 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: 27/26 Gobius? Plenianus Swani pl. 35, fri, 13' Manua D5-26, p.18, v. 10, a 27, c 17 Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Victoria S. Munroe Accession Year 2006 Object Number 2006.16.4 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 in profile. It features a blunt, curved head with large eyes and a downward, curving, agape mouth. Its body tapers to a narrow tail. It has two dorsal fins, including a tall, spiny fin at the center of its back. The fish has a small lateral fin and an abdominal fin that both taper near the tail. Its tail is club-shaped. Its body is dark gray with darker gray and brown mottling. Its abdomen is a light gray. The page has inscriptions in pen and pencil in the lower third of the composition, to the left and right of the fish, and along the bottom of the sheet. One inscription identifies the fish as “Manua”, while another appears to state “Gobius Plenianus”. The fish is most likely from the Gobiidae family, and perhaps represents the Amoya madraspatensis, a ray-finned fish that can be found in the eastern Indian Ocean. 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 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
