Artwork Page for Fancy Ball, Indore

Details / Information for Fancy Ball, Indore

Fancy Ball, Indore

1886

Raja Deen Dayal

(Indian, 1844–1905)
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Culture
India
Medium
albumen print
Measurements
Image: 12.2 x 19.9 cm (4 13/16 x 7 13/16 in.); Paper: 12.9 x 19.9 cm (5 1/16 x 7 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2016.266.36
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

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.
A horizontally oriented albumen print depicts seven people with light skin tones, one wearing dark facial makeup, in a room. On our far left, two women stand. Beside them, a man in a white wig and floral vest reacts with raised hands. In the center, a man kneels before a woman in white while another man behind them raises his arms. On our far right, a woman in a striped dress stands.

Fancy Ball, Indore

1886

Raja Deen Dayal

(Indian, 1844–1905)
India

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