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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2006.16.2
People
Unknown Artist
Title
“Gainchie”, folio from the album, Fishes of India
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
c. 1810
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Bengal
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/5290

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Watercolor and gouache on Whatman paper; Company School.
Dimensions
28.58 x 48.26 cm (11 1/4 x 19 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gweneth Knight Memorial Fund and the William M. Prichard Memorial Fund
Accession Year
2006
Object Number
2006.16.2
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
At the center of the page is a long, narrow, lozenge-shaped fish. It has a pointed snout and its dorsal and abdominal fins are near the end of the body cavity, next to the base of the tail. Company School.

The page contains marks in pencil and ink above and below the fish. The inscriptions identify the fish as Macrognathus pancalus, a barred spiny eel, which is a freshwater fish native to southern Asia. The term “gainchie” has been erroneously inscribed on the paper; it refers to “Ganchi”, or Macrognathus aculeatus, the lesser spiny eel.

This work falls into the genre of natural history documentation, an important enterprise undertaken by many European patrons during their time in India. This genre proliferated between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, and demonstrate the artist's intention of making quick studies from life. Individual paintings were collected to form an album that documented a variety of animals and plants, thus acting, in a way, as a field guide.

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/21/2015 - 11/03/2015

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu