figure (communication artefact)

Painted clay figure of a road-sweeper (Coolie) wearing a blue tunic, pale blue dhoti and a red turban. He carries a basket on his left hip. Documentation with the object states that, "He sweeps the roads and paths around the Bungalow, removes the refuse and acts as dust-man. Sometimes he acts as the family Punkah-wallah and pulls the fan. Sweeping is done by Out-castes, who are low-caste Hindus."

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

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