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Mss Eur C14

Record Id:

040-003464096

Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:

032-002264861

MDARK:

ark:/81055/vdc_100087296548.0x000001

LARK:

SLARK:

Format:

ISAD(G)

Reference (shelfmark):

Mss Eur C14

Title:

Buchanan-Hamilton Drawings Volume I: Costumes of Bihar

Scope & Content:

42 drawings depicting the dress worn by Hindu and Muslim men and women of various classes and castes in both the hot and cold seasons (folios 1-50), plus four drawings depicting fishing nets, pounders, musical insturments and pottery (folios 51-57).

Costume drawings by a Patna artist, c1814; ethnographical drawings c1808-1809.

Folio 1. Muslim gentleman in white muslin costume holding a letter. Inscribed: ‘1. Moslem of high rank in full Summer Dress.’
Folio 2. Muslim lady in white sari holding a rose. Inscribed: ‘2. Moslem of High Rank in full Summer Dress.'
Folio 3. Muslim gentleman with a sword. Inscribed: ‘3. Moslem of High Rank in common Summer Dress.’
Folio 4. Muslim lady in blue trousers with a hand punkah. Inscribed: ‘4. Moslem of High Rank in common Summer Dress.’
Folio 5. Muslim gentleman with green shawl. Inscribed: ‘5. Moslem of High Rank in full winter dress.’
Folio 6. Muslim lady in crimson dress and purple shawl. Inscribed: ‘6. Moslem of High Rank in full winter dress.’
Folio 7. Muslim gentleman with yellow shawl and walking stick. Inscribed: ‘7. Moslem of High Rank in common winter dress.’
Folio 8. Muslim lady in striped trousers and red shawl. Inscribed: ‘8. Moslem of High Rank in common winter dress.’
Folio 9. Muslim man in plain white costume. Inscribed: ‘9. Second Rank of Moslems in full summer dress.’
Folio 10. Muslim woman in striped trousers and pink veil. Inscribed: ‘10. Second Rank of Moslems in full dress for summer.’
Folio 11. Muslim man holding a punkah. Inscribed: ‘11. Second Rank of Moslems common dress in summer.’
Folio 12. Muslim woman holding a punkah. Inscribed: ‘12. Second Rank of Moslems in common summer dress.’
Folio 13. Muslim man with purple flowered shawl. Inscribed: ‘13. Second Rank of Moslems in full winter dress.’
Folio 14. Muslim man in plain white costume. Inscribed: ‘14. Second Rank of Moslems in common Winter dress.’
Folio 15. Muslim woman in striped trousers and purple veil. Inscribed: ‘15. Second Rank of Moslems in common winter dress.’
Folio 16. Muslim man in plain white dress with ‘dhoti.’ Inscribed: ‘16. Third class of Moslems in Summer.’
Folio 17. Muslim woman in plain white sari. Inscribed: ‘17. Third class of Moslems in summer in Sari.’
Folio 18. Muslim man with red spotted wrap. Inscribed: ‘18. Third class of Moslems in winter.’
Folio 19. Muslim woman in red checked trousers and white veil. Inscribed: 19. ‘Third class of Moslems in winter dress.’
Folio 20. Muslim man in short red ‘dhoti’ and white wrap Inscribed: ‘20. Lowest dress of Moslems in summer.’
Folio 21. Muslim woman in plain white sari. Inscribed: ‘21. Lowest dress of Moslems in summer.’
Folio 22. Muslim man in short white ‘dhoti’ and dark wrap. Inscribed: ‘22. Lowest dress of Moslems in winter.’
Folio 23. Muslim woman in white sari and dark veil. Inscribed: ‘23. Lowest dress of Moslems in winter.’
Folio 24. Hindu gentleman in white muslin costume and pink turban. Inscribed: ‘24. Visiting summer dress of a Hindu of High rank.’
Folio 25. Hindu lady in dark blue skirt and red veil holding a punkah. Inscribed: ‘25. Full Summer dress of a Hindu of High rank.’
Folio 26. Hindu man in white costume. Inscribed: ‘32. Second rank of Hindus in summer visiting dress.’
Folio 27. Hindu man in pinkish ‘dhoti’ and white wrap. Inscribed: ‘33. Second rank of Hindus common dress in summer.’
Folio 28. Hindu woman in pink sari with punkah. Inscribed: ‘34. Second Rank Hindu common dress in summer.’
Folio 29. Hindu man in white costume. Inscribed: ‘35. Second Rank of Hindus visiting dress in winter.’
Folio 30. Hindu man in white costume and yellow ‘dhoti.’ Inscribed: ‘36. Second rank of Hindus common dress in winter.’
Folio 31. Hindu woman in purple skirt and yellow flowered shawl. Inscribed: ‘37. Second rank of Hindus common dress in winter.’
Folio 32. Hindu woman in yellow skirt and white veil. Inscribed: ‘38. Second rank of Hindus in full dress for marriages.’
Folio 33. Hindu woman in pink dress and green veil. Inscribed: ‘39. Second rank of Hindus in dress for marriages.’
Folio 34. Hindu woman in blue shirt and red veil. Inscribed: ‘40. Second rank of Hindus visiting dress.’
Folio 35. Hindu man in short white ‘dhoti’ and wrap. Inscribed: ‘41. Third class of Hindus in Summer.’
Folio 36. Hindu woman in white sari. Inscribed: ‘42. Third class of Hindus in summer.’
Folio 37. Hindu man in short ‘dhoti’ and white wrap. Inscribed: ‘43. Third class of Hindus in winter.’
Folio 38. Hindu woman in dark blue skirt and white veil. Inscribed: ‘44. Third class of Hindus in winter.’
Folio 39. Milkman ‘(gwa1a)’ in short yellow ‘dhoti’ carrying a stick. Inscribed: ‘45. Lowest dress of Hindus in summer. Goyala of Magadha in the (kacha) lowest dress of the country.’
Folio 40. Milkman’s wife ‘(gwalin)’ carrying a basket of cow-dung cakes. Inscribed: ‘46. Hindus in lowest summer dress. Goyalia of Magadha in the (kiluya) lowest dress of the country.’
Folio 41. Hindu in short ‘dhoti’ and wrap. Inscribed: ‘47. Lowest dress of Hindus in winter.’
Folio 42. Hindu woman in white sari. Inscribed: ‘48. Lowest dress of Hindus in the cold season.’

Collection Area:

India Office Records and Private Papers

Project / Collection:

India Office Private Papers

Hierarchy Record Ids:

032-002264861
036-003464077
040-003464096

Is part of:

Mss Eur Buchanan : Papers of Francis Buchanan-Hamilton (1762-1829)
Mss Eur C14, D95-97, E73, G25 : Drawings, Maps and Inscriptions

Mss Eur C14 : Buchanan-Hamilton Drawings Volume I: Costumes of Bihar

Hierarchy:

032-002264861[0010]/036-003464077[0001]/040-003464096

Container:

View / search within Archive / Collection: Mss Eur Buchanan

Record Type (Level):

File

Extent:

1 volume

Digitised Content:

Languages:

English

Scripts:

Latin

Start Date:

1808

End Date:

1814

Date Range:

1808-1814

Era:

Place of Origin:

Between 1811 and 1812 Buchanan made a survey of Bihar and Patna districts. The water-marks of 1812 and 1813 on the costume drawings show that they could not have been acquired by Buchanan during his survey work. But he almost certainly encountered Patna painters while he was in the city and he probably ordered a set of pictures which were later supplied to him. In table 41 of the appendix to his Patna report, he enumerates 12 ‘Musawir Wallahs’ or professional painters as working there. The present group differs from conventional sets of Patna paintings which do not depict ‘summer’ and ‘winter’ dress in this way. Nevertheless a few ‘type’ pictures from such sets are included, the Gwalin (xl), for example, being closely similar to Add.Or.1855.

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User Conditions:

Physical Characteristics:

Medium: watercolour

Former Internal References:

K170

Finding Aids:

For the full description, see G.R Kaye and E.H. Johnston, Catalogue of Manuscripts in European Languages (London: HMSO, 1937), no. K170.

Further references to this manuscript may be found in the Mildred Archer, Natural History Drawings in the India Office Library (London: 1962).

Publications:

The present group of drawings was used by R.M. Martin to illustrate his ‘The History, antiquities, topography and statistics of eastern India’ (London, 1838). Nos. i, ii, xxiv, xxv were reproduced in Martin I, frontispiece and plates 1 and 2; v, vi in Martin II, plate 2. The remaining six costume illustrations in Martin II and III showing ‘Hindoos of high rank in full winter dress’, ‘Hindoos of high rank in common summer dress’ and ‘Hindoos of high rank in common winter dress’ are missing in the present collection and account for the numbers 26-31. It seems probable that these paintings were mislaid after being lithographed for Martin’s book.

Material Type:

Archives and Manuscripts

Legal Status:

Not Public Record(s)

Subjects:

Costumes
Hindus
Muslims
Women
ethnic and religious groups