# Great Indian Fruit Bat

**Bhawani Das** (Indian)  
ca. 1777–82  
Pencil, ink, and opaque watercolor on paper  
Painting: H. 23 1/2 in. (59.7 cm) W. 32 3/4 in. (83.2 cm) Mat size: H. 27 1/4 in. (69.2 cm) W. 35 1/2 in. (90.2 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008.312. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/456949).

## About this work

Bhawani Das painted this in about 1777–82. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Opaque watercolour.** Watercolour made opaque with white or chalk and laid in flat, even layers. Persian and Indian painters ground their colours from minerals, applied them with the finest brushes and burnished the finished page.
- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.
- **Ink on paper.** Ink made from soot and animal glue, ground with water on an inkstone. A single brush can give a hair-fine line or a broad wash, and nothing can be corrected.

### [Bhawani Das](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/bhawani-das)

Indian

## Facts

- Type: Paintings
- Real size: about 24 × 33 in (60 × 83 cm). The 20 × 30 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 18th century
- Subjects: Bats
- Colour: white
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1243.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1243/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/great-indian-fruit-bat-met-456949).