The work is held in the collections of the Royal Commonwealth Society Library, which has been housed at the Cambridge University Library since 1993.
This portrait is more of an ethnographic and social document rather than just a personal portrait. This artwork was created as a part of "The Women of Bombay", an album of thirteen watercolor paintings by Manchershaw Fakirjee Pithawalla, or M.F. Pithawalla, which showcased the diversity of Bombay for the visiting Princess of Wales in 1905. The Kokni, or Konkani Muslims are a community associated with the Konkan coast of Maharashtra, stretching from Mumbai towards Goa. Many lived in Bombay as merchants, traders, and seafaring families. This album documents the ethnic and religious diversity of early 20th century Bombay and provides a rare visual representation of how women from different communities dressed and presented themselves. Many communities such as Khoja, Bohra, Kokni Muslim, etc were included in this album. The title of this portrait identifies the woman by her community, reflecting on how colonial Bombay often categorized people by their religion, ethnicity and occupation rather than individuality. The representation itself is very dignified. She stands upright, meeting the viewer's sight calmly. Her pose suggests respectability, social standing and education rather than just an exotic curiosity for the Princess of Wales. She wears a richly draped sari with the pallu covering her head, she wears ornate jewelry such as bangles, earrings and necklaces. The painting itself has a realist academic style, with influences of late Victorian portraiture, with minimal background to focus on her clothing, posture and identity. The album celebrated Bombay as a cosmopolitan city where diverse communities lived side by side, it functions almost as a visual census of the communities in the city.
The artwork represents more than the appearance of a woman; it offers a glimpse into the cultural identity and social history of Bombay in the early twentieth century. Through her traditional clothing, jewellery, composed posture, and dignified expression, the woman becomes a visual representation of the community to which she belonged. I find the painting valuable because it preserves details of dress and cultural presentation that help us understand the diversity of Indian society during that period. At the same time, identifying the woman primarily through her community reminds us that historical portraits can reflect the social classifications of their time rather than reveal an individual's personal story. Overall, the painting celebrates cultural diversity while encouraging us to look beyond labels and recognise the individual human being represented in the artwork.
