{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O76433"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O76433/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AH4435/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AH4435/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AH4435","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O76433/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O76433","accessionNumber":"IS.186-1881","objectType":"Painting","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"William Carpenter was the eldest son of the distinguished portrait painter Margaret Sarah Carpenter and of William Hookham Carpenter, who became Keeper of the Prints and Drawings Department at the British Museum. In early 1850 he set off in the footsteps of his younger brother Percy, also an artist, and landed in Bombay. He spent much of his time painting portraits of local rulers and the surrounding countryside, often wearing Indian dress himself. He travelled widely, from Sri Lanka in the south to Kashmir in the north, and he also spent some time in the Punjab and Afghanistan before moving south to Rajasthan. He appears to have returned to England in 1856. Ten years later he was living in Boston, USA, but he moved back to London, where he died in 1899. \n\nCarpenter's Indian pictures display a particular interest in costume, agriculture, and the day-to-day lives of the local inhabitants. From the title provided on the painting's mount, this work is a portrait of a Singiwala woman. The Singiwala are a nomadic community in north-west India and Pakistan. The name Singiwala is derived from the community's traditional practice of treating wounds using a horn ('Singi') to suction impure blood from the body, also known as cupping. ","physicalDescription":"","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Carpenter, William","id":"A6229"},"association":{"text":"artist","id":"AAT25136"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"watercolour","id":"x33202"},{"text":"paper","id":"x30308"}],"techniques":[{"text":"painting","id":"x30598"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Watercolour on paper","categories":[{"text":"Paintings","id":"THES48917"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"SSEA","id":"THES48598"},"images":["2006AH4435"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"003","id":"THES403678"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Painting","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"India","id":"x29790"},"association":{"text":"painted","id":"x30138"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1855","earliest":"1850-01-01","latest":"1859-12-31"},"association":{"text":"painted","id":"AAT54216"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Purchased from William Carpenter","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"13.75","unit":"in","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"9.5","unit":"in","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"'A Singwali or cupping woman of a wandering gypsy tribe. 186-'81'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Title of work on painting mount."}],"objectHistory":"Nos. IS.54-1881 to IS.193-1881 purchased from William Carpenter for £500.\r\n\r\nPurchased from William Carpenter. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project.\r\n\r\nRegistered Paper 4429-1881","historicalContext":"William Carpenter (ca.1818-1899) travelled through India from 1850-1856 painting portraits and pictures of rulers and their courts and Indian scenery.  He travelled to Calcutta via Bombay and Sri Lanka and then up to Delhi and the Punjab frequently dressing in Indian style during his journeys.  He stayed in Kashmir from 1854-55, obviously delighting in the scenery and people.  Later visiting Afghanistan and then moving south to Rajasthan.  On his return to England he exhibited Indian scenes at the Royal Academy between 1857 and 1866.","briefDescription":"Painting of a Singiwala woman by William Carpenter, India, 1855.","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Archer, Mildred and Ronald Lightbown.  'India Observed: India as viewed by British Artists 1760-1860.  Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1982. p108 and 138. ISBN 0905209184"}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["IS.186-1881"],"accessionNumberNum":"186","accessionNumberPrefix":"IS","accessionYear":1881,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-05-02","recordCreationDate":"2003-03-10","availableToBook":true}}