Cambridge University Library in Cambridge, United Kingdom
Manchershaw Fakirjee Pithawalla (1872-1937) was an accomplished Indian academic realist painter who painted the famous watercolour album known as 'The Women of Bombay' in 1905. During this year, Pithawalla was commissioned by the people to create this watercolour album, which focused on the different communities in Bombay. When Queen Mary, Princess of Wales at the time, came to visit India, this album was offered to her as part of the welcome reception for the women of Bombay. The book includes a collection of elegant and beautifully illustrated images of various women from different communities of Bombay. This included women from the Parsi community, Muslim women including Khoja, Memon, Sulaimani, Mogul, and Kokni communities and Hindu women including Brahmin, Maratha, Purbhu, Bhattia and Marwari communities, among others. Pithawalla has elegantly blended together the elements of Western academic realism and cultural documentation while being keen on depicting accurate traditional costume, headgear, jewellery, fabrics and posture of the subjects.
Representations of South Asians in Europe from the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century often took the form of colonial stereotypes – nameless and depersonalised individuals who exist solely to highlight their caste affiliation or dress. Yet by employing the strictest standards of academic portraiture, Pithawalla subverts these interpretations. Each subject is portrayed as a unique person with his or her own expression, gesture, and innate dignity. Thus, the gallery provides a history of the textile tradition and ornamental practices of early twentieth century society. This is accomplished by portraying elements like the muslin clothing and kor of the textile pieces, as well as large-scale silks and the Parsi gara sarees with their embroidery. Ornamental jewellery pieces like forehead ornaments, pearl necklaces, nath nose rings, and bracelets made of either glass or gold are illustrated in accordance with their anatomical form and physical properties.
These clothes highlight the position of Bombay as a global hub for trade where the native weaving techniques had been combined with fabrics imported from Europe, Persia, and East Asia. This photo album presents a self-representation of Indian womanhood. As the album was compiled by the women of Bombay themselves, the pictures presented by Pithawalla are imbued with a sense of civic identity and presence.
The Women of Bombay represents much more than a collection of portraits; it can be understood as a visual record of Bombay’s diverse social, cultural, and textile traditions at the beginning of the twentieth century. Through his academic realist style, Pithawalla presents women from different religious and regional communities with considerable attention to their clothing, jewellery, posture, and individual expressions.
What I find particularly meaningful is the way the paintings appear to preserve identity through appearance. The textiles, embroidery, jewellery, headgear, and traditional garments are not merely decorative elements; they communicate the cultural background and social identity of each woman. In this sense, the album becomes almost a visual archive of Bombay’s communities and their material culture.
I also think the work carries an important message about representation and dignity. Colonial-era depictions of Indian people frequently reduced individuals to anonymous examples of caste, occupation, or "exotic" dress. Pithawalla's academic portraiture instead gives the women a degree of individuality. Their expressions, gestures, and composed poses suggest that they are not simply ethnographic specimens but people with their own identities and presence.
