Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00013054Fancy Group, Indore II
About the Artwork
Entertainments at “fancy dress” or costume parties often included amateur theatricals or tableaux vivants—static scenes drawn from literature, history, or artworks. Here, Deen Dayal captured three moments distilled from a popular novel or play. The guests—all middle or upper class—perform as characters ranging from the working class to ladies and gentlemen. Because the photographic technology of the time required strong daylight, the photographs would have been made on a separate occasion, not at the party.
Inscriptions
Stamped in black ink on verso: “31.7I” Written in pencil on verso: “2466”
Provenance
1887 or 1888: Studio of Raja Deen Dayal, sold to commissioner (identity unknown) 1970s–2015: Walter Clode [1929–2022], Pershore, England, sold or consigned to Prahlad Bubbar Indian and Islamic Art, London, England 2015–16: (Prahlad Bubbar Indian and Islamic Art, London, England), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH December 5, 2016–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Raja Deen Dayal: The King of Indian Photographers. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 23, 2023-February 4, 2024).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Raja Deen Dayal (Indian, 1844–1905)
- Date
- 1886
- Medium
- albumen print
- Dimensions
- Image: 11.7 x 18.9 cm (4 5/8 x 7 7/16 in.); Paper: 11.7 x 18.9 cm (4 5/8 x 7 7/16 in.)
- Type
- Photograph
- Classification
- Photograph
- Department
- Photography
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Accession no.
- 2016.266.35
More by Raja Deen Dayal in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00013054
Powered by Art Trackers