Mid-to-late 19th century original painting of Bengali lower caste female floor sweeper servant

Bengal, India: Ca. 1850-1875. Painting itself, in watercolor or gouache, measures approximately 5 x 4 inches, on slightly larger sheet of paper with ink-ruled borders, mounted on stiff gray stock approximately 9.5 x 6.5 inches, on which is written in an old hand, "a Female Mehamany [sic] Sweeper attendant on Ladies," and shows a Bengali woman crouching on the floor of an English-woman's bedroom, made the more realistic by the presence of what looks like a crumpled bedsheet on the dresser, ready to be washed. The word used to describe her, "Mehamany" is very likely a variant phonetic rendering of "mehtarani," the feminized version of "mehtar," the Bengali term for a sweeper, although "mehtar" was commonly used across India as a generic term for a sweeper, regardless of caste. But the women employed in such roles traditionally came from the lowest "untouchable" or Dalit caste. These women swept floors, cleaned courtyards, managed kitchen waste, and in some cases cleaned latrines (though latrine work was sometimes done by different caste workers). They worked early in the morning, often barefoot, and were not allowed in certain "clean" spaces due to caste prejudice. Sweepers, especially women, were at the bottom of the servant hierarchy and were sometimes not allowed to enter through the main gate or speak directly to their British employers. Thus, depictions of them are extremely uncommon. This was probably done, if we had to guess, by an English female member of the household -- a wife or daughter. Very good. Item #h42762

Price: $250.00