"Though posed in a formal setting framed by a billowing baroque style drapery, the regal woman bestows a warm, friendly smile on the viewer,” Paolo Gomes, director of Fundação Oriente (Foundation Orient) told Parsiana about the portrait of Lady Meherbai Tata that hangs in their art gallery in Goa. Dressed in a sheer, rust colored sari with a narrow border, the wife of Sir Dorab Tata, scion of the founder of the Tata conglomerate Jamsetji appears "accessible and welcoming,” noted Gomes. The gallery was responding to our queries after the portrait was spotted on the social media account of reader and trustee of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman of Secunderabad and Hyderabad Jehangir Bisney. He had seen it while on holiday in the sunshine state.
Above: Portrait of Lady Meherbai Tata at Goa’s Fundação Oriente art gallery (above r) Photos: Fundação Oriente
In the 108 cm x 82 cm oil on canvas painted by Antonio Xavier Trindade (1870-1935) Meherbai wears a contrasting blouse having Western style long sleeves with cuffs, a collar and tiny pearl buttons. Gomes’s note states that "the warm colors that dominate the palette and the visible brush strokes contribute to a warm, relaxed presentation.” The sari is draped in the Parsi style, with a gold pin that has a single diamond in the middle. She wears a necklace of pearls and gold. The note states that "a small chain holds a pendant in front which appears to be an insignia…Matching her necklace is a bracelet on her right arm… Her ears are bejewelled with long diamond earrings and she carries a ring on her right hand also with diamonds.” Below her left shoulder is a ribbon bow.
The portrait was painted in 1931, just before Meherbai went overseas to be treated for leukemia and passed away there. Gomes notes that the portrait would have been one of the most important ones of Trindade’s career. "This assignment attests to the painter’s artistic reputation and his ability to create a portrait appropriate to the family’s status.”
The image is part of the permanent exhibition of the works of Trindade. Gomes told Parsiana that "The Trindade Collection was donated to the Foundation by the Esther Trindade Trust in 2004, and it includes works by Antonio and his daughter Angela. The Collection is "considered one of the central points of our local engagement and contribution to Goa’s vibrant cultural life.”
The Foundation is a Portuguese private institution founded with the objective of carrying out and supporting cultural, educational, artistic and social initiatives. With headquarters in Lisbon, it has branches in India, China and East Timor. The annual program in India includes cultural activities "with the major aim of being a communication platform for mutual understanding and enrichment of an already solid relationship between Portugal and India,” noted Gomes.