Print made by Bell, active 1840s, Britishafter Bernard Picart, 1673–1733, FrenchPublished by A. Fullarton & Co., active 1820s–ca. 1860, British
Title:
Key to Plate of Hindu Fakirs Practising their Superstitious Rites
Date:
ca. 1840
Materials & Techniques:
Etching and line engraving on medium, slightly textured, cream wove paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 7 1/8 × 10 3/8 inches (18.1 × 26.4 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Lettered below image: "R. Picart | R. Bell | KEY TO PLATE OF HINDU FAKIRS PRACTICING THEIR SUPERSTITIOUS RITES. | 1. The great Tree of the Banyans. | 2. A pagoda of the idol Mamaniva, on one side of which Devotees are marked on the forehead | with vermilion; on the other side a Brahman takes their free-will offerings of rice &c. | 3. A pagoda of Ram | 4. Another pagoda dedicated to Ram. | 5. A pagoda of retirement for the penitential Fakirs. | 6. A cavern or close ditch impervious to the least gleam of day, except what passes through | a little hole for that purpose, resorted to by a Fakir several times in the year. | 7. A Fakir sleeping upon a cord. | 8. Fakirs that remain all their lives in the same attitude, living by the charity of female Devotees. | 9. Several Fakirs consulted and invoked as Saints, by the women. | 10. Various postures that some Fakirs are in several hours a day. | 11. A Brahman with his nose and mouth muffled up, lest he should swallow the smallest insect in drawing his breath; | he likewise sweeps the ground before him as he walks lest he should tread upon any worm or insect. | 12. Fakirs warming themselves. | 13. A Fakir feeding animals out of pure charity. | A. Fullerton & Co. London & Edinburgh."
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Gift of Frank de Caro and Rosan Augusta Jordan
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B2017.7.16
Classification:
Prints
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
architectural subject | landscape | religious and mythological subject | temple | Hindu | rituals | rites