id:			146198
accession number:	1971.88
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1971.88
updated:		2020-12-22 10:00:49.963000

Grotesque Dancers Performing, c.1600. Mughal India. Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; image: 16 x 9 cm (6 5/16 x 3 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1971.88

title:				Grotesque Dancers Performing
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c.1600
creation date earliest:		1595
creation date latest:		1605
current location:		
creditline:			Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Mughal India
technique:	gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
department:	Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection:	Indian Art
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Image: 16 x 9 cm (6 5/16 x 3 9/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	Unrelated later Persian text on recto
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Dance of the Gods: Indian Art Inspired by Music
	opening date:   1996-09-24T04:00:00
	<i>Dance of the Gods: Indian Art Inspired by Music</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-December 8, 1996).

	title:		Dancing to the Flute: Music and Dance in Indian Art

	opening date:   1997-06-12T00:00:00
	<i>Dancing to the Flute: Music and Dance in Indian Art
</i>. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (organizer) (June 12-August 24, 1997).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Stevens
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(John D. MacDonald, Manchester, NH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: ?-1971
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1971-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
Akbar applied an aromatic paste under his arms, which stained his garment.

digital description: 


wall description: 
This scene from an unidentified manuscript depicts entertainers at the Mughal court. The dancers appear to be from the fringes of society, and they may be intended to depict tribal people or semihuman nature spirits. One is dark skinned with small elephant ears and red-rimmed eyes, wearing a white tiger-skin pelt. The female dancer wears a collar of leaves; the male figure on the right has horns, wears bells, and carries an animal-headed club that appears to be made of bone. An exuberant orchestra provides musical and vocal accompaniment below. While not an imperial production, this painting may reference the Mughal emperor Akbar’s practice of welcoming a wide range of people from all regions and traditions to his court, since he was interested in understanding their customs.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Leach, Linda York. <em>Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986.
	page number: 	Reproduced: cat. no. 32
	url:		

	Masselos, Jim, Jackie Menzies, Pratapaditya Pal, and Reis Wenger Flora. <em>Dancing to the Flute: Music and Dance in Indian Art</em>. Sydney, Australia: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1997.
	page number: 	Reproduced: cat. no. 167 pp. 264-266
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1971.88/1971.88_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1971.88/1971.88_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1971.88/1971.88_full.tif