Summary
Alternative Names: Poonah Figure, Poona Figure
This clay figure of a Priest for the Hindu Goddess Kali was made in Pune, India. It was exhibited at the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880, as part of a group of figures representing various castes, occupations and religious sects in India. Pune sent exhibits to the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition as part of the British India Court. It was gifted to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) by the India Commission of the Melbourne International Exhibition, 1880-81. The NGV Stock book describes the figure as a 'Priest for the Hindoo Goddess Kali, whom Thugs Worship'.
Physical Description
Figure of a man on a turned wooden base. The base is painted red. There is a paper label glued to the upper surface of the base. The figure is plaster/composition modeled over wooden dowels, it is painted with a dark brown skin tone and dressed in fabric. His garments consist of a white cotton coat, he has a number of strips of multicoloured cotton around his arms and waist and is wearing a black belt with small gold balls around it. He is holding some twisted textile in his right hand, which passes around his neck and lies on his chest.
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Donation (Probable) from Exhibition: 1880 International, Melbourne, 1880
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Place & Date Made
Pune, Maharashtra, India, circa 1867
NGV Stockbook gives date range. -
Inscriptions
Printed in black ink on paper label glue to the upper side of the base: 82
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Classification
Museum history, Affiliated institutions, Exhibition heritage
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Overall Dimensions
10 cm (Width), 15 cm (Height)
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Keywords
Artistic Practices, Artists, Crafts, Dolls, Handcrafts, Indigenous Cultures, Modelmaking, Museum History, Religions: Hinduism, Sculpture
