SIXTEEN MICA PAINTINGS OF CRAFTSMEN AND VILLAGERS
Possibly Patna or Benares, India, mid to late 19th century

Opaque pigments on mica, comprising five leaves in horizontal format, and eleven leaves in smaller vertical format, each panel acting as a fresco of 19th-century Indian society by depicting typical scenes of rural India with craftsmen at work like blacksmiths, washermen, wool makers, people from different castes, villagers, and servants like umbrella holders, cobblers, and waiters, each mica leaf slightly different in size, the largest 15cm x 19cm.