Untitled

This is a rare work from Bikash Bhattacharjee’s oeuvre as it is devoid of any human presence or even a humanoid figure such as a doll that would give rise to one of his most famous series in the 1970s. The highlight of the work is what appears to be a sindoor (vermillion) box—almost a jewel in a married Hindu woman’s life—but devoid of its content, the vermillion, whose absence denotes widowhood, and a void in the woman’s life that cannot be filled. The fact that it is an heirloom is brought forth by the engraving on the lid, and the ancient architectural imagery in the background.