A Hindoo Fakeer by Emily Eden - 1844

This lithograph was taken from plate 3 of Emily Eden's 'Portraits of the Princes and People of India'. Eden wrote: "A Fakeer is a religious devotee, whether of the Mahomedan or Hindoo persuasion; the person represented in the print is a Hindoo".
The seventh daughter of Baron Auckland, Emily accompanied her brother, Lord Auckland, to India during his time as Governor General (1835 to 1842). She was a talented watercolourist and a keen observer of her surroundings. She had a particular opportunity to observe the people of India when she and her sister Frances ('Fanny') accompanied their brother on his long tour from Calcutta to Punjab for a meeting with Ranjit Singh, ruler of the Sikhs.