Harvard Art Museums > 2009.202.219: Bankers Receive News from a Dak Runner Paintings Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Bankers Receive News from a Dak Runner (Unknown Artist) , 2009.202.219,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 25, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/216949. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2009.202.219 People Unknown Artist Title Bankers Receive News from a Dak Runner Other Titles Alternate Title: A Dak Runner Classification Paintings Work Type painting Date c. 1850 Places Creation Place: South Asia, India, Uttar Pradesh Culture Indian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/216949 Physical Descriptions Medium Opaque watercolor and gold on paper Dimensions 19 x 24 cm (7 1/2 x 9 7/16 in.) Inscriptions and Marks inscription: Language: English “A Hukurah /dak runner/ delivering a letter to Shraffs /bankers/ of Nourie Hindoos.” Provenance Recorded Ownership History Stuart Cary Welch (by 1983 - 2008,) by descent; to his estate (2008-2009,) gift; to Harvard Art Museum. Notes: Object was part of long-term loan to Museum in 1983. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Gift of Edith I. Welch in memory of Stuart Cary Welch Accession Year 2009 Object Number 2009.202.219 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description Seated on a flat, white and indigo carpet are three Hindu bankers (shraffs) from the village of Noori, located in the Chandauli District of Uttar Pradesh State in India, working on their ledgers. The bankers wear red-orange turbans, white robes, and red-beaded necklaces. The one on the left has a distinct, long beard, and his large stomach is exposed. Standing next to this figure is a mail (dak) runner, distinguished by his spear and the messages in his hand. Mail runners not only delivered important messages, but also news from neighboring villages. The painting highlights the social distinctions between the bankers and the mail runner, as the latter is dressed more humbly in a sooty top and a dhoti, a garment worn by male Hindus, consisting of a piece of fabric tied around the waist and extending to cover most of the legs. The runner also wears a red-orange turban with a white band tied around it. Commentary Label text from exhibition “Company to Crown: Perceptions and Reactions in British India,” April 8–October 15, 2011, curated by Maliha Noorani, 2009–11 Norma Jean Calderwood Curatorial Fellow, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art, Harvard Art Museums: Bankers Receive News from a Dak Runner India, c. 1850 Opaque watercolor and gold on paper Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Gift of Edith I. Welch in memory of Stuart Cary Welch, 2009.202.219 In this painting Hindu bankers from the village of Nourie are seated on a flat-weave indigo-dyed carpet, at work at their ledgers, while a dak runner (mailman) stands by with a letter. The inscription reads: “A Hukurah [dak runner] delivering a letter to Shraffs [bankers] of Nourie Hindoos.” The painting highlights the social distinctions between the humble dak runner, dressed in dingy colors, and the wealthy bankers garbed in saffron turbans, snow-white robes, and coral prayer beads. Coifing the bankers in saffron adds a touch of irony: in Hinduism, saffron is associated with then sacred as well as renunciation of the material world. Publication History Stuart Cary Welch, Room for Wonder : Indian Painting During the British Period, 1760-1880, exh. cat., American Federation of Arts (New York, NY, 1978), Page 166-167/Figure 72 Sir Roy Strong, The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts Under Mughal Rule, exh. cat., Balding + Mansell (London, England, 1982), page 55/figure 111 Exhibition History Life at Court: Art for India's Rulers, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, 11/20/1985 - 02/09/1986; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, 03/14/1986 - 05/09/1986 Re-View: S231 (Islamic rotation: 7) Company to Crown, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/08/2011 - 10/15/2011 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be 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
