Artwork Page for Man Dyeing Cloth

Details / Information for Man Dyeing Cloth

Man Dyeing Cloth

early 1830s
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India, Company School, Lucknow, 19th century

Medium
Gum tempera and ink on paper
Measurements
Overall: 22.2 x 15.9 cm (8 3/4 x 6 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Seventy-fifth anniversary gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward 1992.142
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Members of the British East India Company, largely merchants themselves, collected picture books that were compendiums of Indian professions and occupations, made by a new class of commercial Indian artists. They often emphasized the exotic and primitive aspects of life in India, such as the turbaned, pajama-clad man, squatting on the ground with a blank expression, making dye and hand-coloring strips of cloth using simple terracotta vessels.
A vertically oriented gum tempera painting in muted tans and vibrant reds depicts a man in a blue turban and striped pants kneeling. In the center, he dips red fabric into a dish. To our left, colored scarves hang within a dark alcove. The foreground holds terracotta pots and bowls of dye, with a stand filtering red liquid on our right. A yellow and black border frames the scene.

Man Dyeing Cloth

early 1830s

India, Company School, Lucknow, 19th century

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