EARLY 19TH 20TH CENTURY, BENGAL

'Made by native craftsmen in Bengal, an area where figurative clay modelling flourished from the early 18th century, these naturalistically modelled servants are representative of those employed by European colonials. Commissioned groups of figures depicting types of occupation or caste were a common cultural expression of a more widespread imperial endeavour to classify the Indian people, and, as well as being obtianed as souvenirs, they were often acquired by museums for educational purposes.' Below Stairs Exhibition Catalogue, London, 2003, p.148.