id:			162429
accession number:	2003.105
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2003.105
updated:		2022-01-04 17:31:36.369000

Jailer Receiving the Mahant of Tarakeshwar in Prison, c. 1890. Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat. Black ink, watercolor, and tin paint, with graphite underdrawing on paper; painting only: 45 x 28 cm (17 11/16 x 11 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward 2003.105

title:				Jailer Receiving the Mahant of Tarakeshwar in Prison
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1890
creation date earliest:		1875
creation date latest:		1905
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward
copyright:			

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culture:	Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat
technique:	Black ink, watercolor, and tin paint, with graphite underdrawing 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: Painting only: 45 x 28 cm (17 11/16 x 11 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Indian Kalighat Paintings
	opening date:   2011-05-01T00:00:00
	<i>Indian Kalighat Paintings</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 1-September 18, 2011).

	title:		Indian Gallery 242b Rotation – November 2017-April 2018
	opening date:   2017-11-10T05:00:00
	<i>Indian Gallery 242b Rotation – November 2017-April 2018</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 10, 2017-April 16, 2018).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* Cleveland Museum of Art, (5/1/11-9/18/11); "Indian Kalighat Paintings"

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PROVENANCE

	William E. Ward [1922-2004], Solon, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?-2003
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2003-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall description: 
The Tarakeshwar murder case of 1873 was a public scandal in Calcutta (now Kolkata). It concerned an affair between Elokeshi, a young wife, and the chief priest of the Shiva temple at Tarakeshwar. Having learned about the affair, her jealous husband cut Elokeshi’s throat with a fish knife on May 27, 1873. In the subsequent trial, the husband, Banerji, was sentenced to life imprisonment and the priest was fined and imprisoned for three years. Several Bengali plays and Kalighat images were inspired by this affair and depicted events that did not actually occur but were imagined by the artist. Here the adulterer, the Mahant (head priest), is depicted roped to an Indian jailer and presented to an English (or Anglo-Indian) warden. The warden sits in a black chair, wearing an English top hat and holding in his right hand the Mahant’s warrant of commitment for adultery. Both the warden and jailer wear British-styled buckled shoes.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2003.105/2003.105_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2003.105/2003.105_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2003.105/2003.105_full.tif