Presence or Absence: Women in Miniature

Saturday 28 Aug 2010 - Sunday 31 Oct 2010
10.30am - 4.00pm

In the State Rooms (one display case)

This exhibition of mainly 19th Century Indian miniatures and English portrait miniatures on ivory drawn from the Harewood House Collection enables an exploration of the little researched area of how both Indian and Englsh women were positioned within the political, social and domestic power structures of the Empire.

Lady Canning’s diaries, also held in the Harewood Collection (her husband was Governor General and later the first Viceroy of India from 1856 – 1858 and 1858 – 1862 respectively) provide a rich, first hand account of this volatile period, interspersed with piercing insights into how physically stifling life could be for an aristocratic English woman living in the searing heat of India while wearing the cruelly restraining garments expected of her.

The women depicted in the English miniatures are known individuals - Queen Victoria and Lady Canning, for instance. The women in the Indian miniatures are depictions of particular literary traditions both sacred and secular.

The exhibition will also look at the history, techniques and development of this fascinating artform.

This exhibition is taking place in conjunction with imove. Click here to find out more about imove and Harewood's imove projects.