Picture Details
Cloth merchant selling chintz
Partner:
British LibraryImage reference:
BL.Add.Or.2531Origin:
Thanjavur, IndiaArtist / Date:
Unknown, c.1802Description:
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This opaque water-colour painting done in the Tanjore style is an example of the 'trade and occupation' series commissioned by Company officials during these times. It shows a cloth merchant in his shop selling chintz to a customer. The word 'Chintz' comes from the Hindi 'chint' meaning variegated, and was applied to printed or painted calicoes. Calico cloth took its name from the Indian port of Calicut and was used as a generic name for all Indian cotton fabric, including plain, printed, stained, woven or dyed. Chintz stood out for its colourful floral patterns and unique starched sheen which gave an impression of satin, even while possesing a glossy wipe-clean property. It was this latter quality that insured its lasting place in English interiors. Traders of the East India Companies brought back chintz to Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the painting, samples of chintz are hung for display from a clothes line and a set of folded chintz sits next to the shopkeeper. The customer who is himself depicted wearing chintz, provides a measure of material he requires. The shopkeeper's assistant brings out more samples from inside.
