Great Indian Fruit Bat

This study is connected with Indian painters working for the Impey family in Calcutta. Their natural-history commissions joined local painting skills with European scientific interests. The museum allows that a follower of Bhawani Das may have painted this particularly naturalistic fruit bat, so the authorship remains qualified.

The extended left wing occupies almost half the sheet. A thin membrane stretches between long bones whose structure remains visible through its surface.

The fruit bat's face turns toward the viewer. Pointed ears, eyes, and nose are carefully distinguished from the thick fur.

Golden-brown fur covers the head and shoulders. Short strokes render it differently from the smooth, dark wing membranes.

The right wing folds sharply upward. The two wing positions allow comparison between their extended and bent structures.

Small clawed feet appear below the body. They are carefully included despite occupying little space beside the enormous wings.

A hooked thumb claw projects above the long left wing. This small feature contributes to the study's anatomical precision.

Bhawani Das trained in Mughal miniature painting. Sir Elijah and Mary Impey commissioned animal studies at their Calcutta estate. The attribution to him or a follower preserves the distinction between documented work by the painter and a closely related work.