The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Man Dyeing Cloth

early 1830s

India, Company School, Lucknow, 19th century

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

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.
  • ?–1992
    William E. Ward [1922–2004], Solon, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1992–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1992.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 2 (February 1993): 38–79. Mentioned: p. 79 www.jstor.org
  • Indian Gallery 242b Rotation – November 2017-April 2018. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 10, 2017-April 16, 2018).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 18, 2004-May 23, 2005).
    Signs of Affection: Gifts Honoring the Museum's 75th Anniversary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27, 1992-January 3, 1993).
  • {{cite web|title=Man Dyeing Cloth|url=false|author=|year=early 1830s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1992.142