An oil-seller and his wife
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1790
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
An oil-seller and his wife is a 1790 paint by Unknown, a Patna School of Painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows an oil-seller and his wife sitting behind a table. Their goods are in brass pots and bottles. The woman looks tired while the man seems focused on his work. This work comes from a set of sixteen paintings made for British officials in India. They show local castes and jobs like this one. People called these "Company paintings" because they were made for British trading companies. Check out more like this at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting is one of sixteen depicting castes and occupations, produced by Indian artists for British patrons. It shows an oil-seller and his wife, the man carrying a basket of pots with brass stoppers on his head, while the woman holds a similar pot; the background is a plain dull yellow. The set includes works by at least two artists, with some featuring plain blue backgrounds instead. The work was transferred from the India Museum to its current location in 1879.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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