Hook-swinging festival (Chadak parvan) : from an album of Company paintings of occupations and festivals
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Material Information

Title:
Hook-swinging festival (Chadak parvan) : from an album of Company paintings of occupations and festivals
Series Title:
Objects of instruction : treasures of SOAS
Added title page title:
பண்டிகை : ஆக்கிரமிப்புக்கள் மற்றும் பண்டிகைகள் நிறுவனத்தின் ஓவியங்கள் ஒரு ஆல்பத்தில் இருந்து
Donor:
Formerly owned by Rev. William Thompson (1811-1889). On permanent loan from the Council for World Mission Archive.
Place of Publication:
Tamil Nadu, India
Publication Date:
Materials:
Watercolour on paper ( medium )
Measurements:
H35 x W22 cm in

Notes

Abstract:
Both the style of production and the subject-matter of ‘Company’ albums were adapted to European taste and included representations of flora and fauna, local communities, monuments, festivals, deities and craft industries. Over half this set have figures thought familiar to European travellers and residents in southern India: a bird-seller, ironsmith, stonecutter, coppersmith, basket-maker or religious mendicant. These are joined by livelier scenes of marriage and funeral ceremonies, and a series of Hindu, Muslim and Catholic festivals and processions. Two scenes with known buildings in Pondicherry suggest that the original owner was French (Text by Crispin Branfoot, from the exhibition catalogue: Objects of instruction : treasures of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Anna Contadini, Editor. London : SOAS, University of London, 2007.) ( en )
General Note:
The British Library notes: "The pictures made by Indian artists for the British in India are called Company paintings. This one shows the climax of the charak pûjâ. This is a Bengali festival of penance, in which groups of men and women spend a month fasting from sunrise to sunset and living only on fruit. On the day of the charak itself, people construct bamboo stages on top of poles, at a height ranging from three to five metres. The devotees step up on to the high bamboo stage and, with ropes attached to them, hurl themselves forward."
General Note:
Folio 30 of CMWL MS 500

Record Information

Source Institution:
SOAS, University of London
Holding Location:
Archives and Special Collections
Rights Management:
This item is licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivative License. This license allows others to download this work and share them with others as long as they mention the author and link back to the author, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.
Resource Identifier:
CMWL MS 500 ( soas manuscript number )