Model

This model basket of fish is one of many such clay models that were made in India in the 19th century. There were models of different types of food and different Indian occupations or caste ‘types’.

These clay miniatures were produced in various cities, including Lucknow, Krishnagar, Calcutta and Pune, and sold to visiting Europeans. They aimed to illustrate the ‘peoples of India’ and the way they lived, and groups of them were also displayed in many of the international exhibitions of the period.