- Title
- European Fortune Teller Feeding Pet Birds
- Date Made
- 1700-1725
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor and ink on paper
- Dimensions
- Image: 7 3/4 x 6 in. (19.68 x 15.24 cm); Sheet: 11 x 8 5/8 in. (27.94 x 21.9 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.85.139.1
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
The Indian fascination with exotic foreigners is evident in this representation of a European fortune teller bestowed with a topknot, mustache, and goatee. He sports a floral sprig in his hair and on his chest. He wears a loose shawl over a shirt with a lace collar and folded cuffs, both features alien to Indian fashion. The fortune tellers’ birds would pick a playing card to tell the customer’s future or fortune, thus making his occupation seem equally outlandish to his audience. Here, he is feeding his birds a spoonful of seeds.
An almost identical representation in the British Museum (1956,0714,0.28) omits the mustache and goatee; hence, it has been misinterpreted as female despite the vaguely rendered nipples and chest hair.
The inscription in devanagari script in the upper border, probably added later, misidentifies the figure as an “oliya” (Arabic: auliya) or Muslim saint.
