The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Juggler

c. 1840

India, Company School, Lucknow or Patna, 19th century

ink and gouache on paper
Overall: 17.2 x 12.7 cm (6 3/4 x 5 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Ward 1982.119
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Cowrie shells, in front of him, were used as money.

Description

A page from a book of paintings that would have included images of various entertainments in India, this painting is rendered in a European style for British consumption. The label Juggler is written in a Victorian-era hand in the margin below. The main figure is seated on the ground with his knees drawn tightly up under his chin, reinforcing a Western stereotype that all Indian people can do physical feats with their bodies, like yogis. On display are his talents of manipulating balls on a two-stringed bow, called “juggling” by the British owner of the painting for lack of a better moniker. His performance was intended to create a spectacle for entertainment and income. This painting would have been made for sale too, in the new economy under British dominance in which Indian artists made documentary pictures for foreign overlords.
  • ?–1982
    William E. Ward [1922–2004] and Ellen Svec Ward [1921–1989], Solon, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1982–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review for 1982.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 70, no. 1 (January 1983): 3–55. Reproduced: p. 33; Mentioned: p. 54, no. 111 www.jstor.org
    Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 57
  • Indian Gallery 242b Rotation – November 2017-April 2018. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 10, 2017-April 16, 2018).
    The Year in Review for 1982. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 5-February 6, 1983).
  • {{cite web|title=Juggler|url=false|author=|year=c. 1840|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1982.119