Murshidabad: monuments in memory of women who had died by sati. Coloured etching by William Hodges, 1788.

"Hodges went to Murshidabad in 1781, and it is likely that during this visit he came upon this cluster of monuments on the city's outskirts. They had been erected in memory of women who had performed the act of Sati, which Hodges described as "a well-known custom amongst the Hindoos, that the women, upon the death of their husbands, burn themselves on the funeral pile of the deceased". It is questionable whether the act of Sati was as "well-known" as Hodges believed. He claimed to have witnessed a Sati in October 1781 while in Varanasi, and although he was clearly fascinated by what he saw, he also expressed horror and outrage at the practice."--British Library online catalogue, 26 March 2009

An unoccupied litter for tranport is shown on the left

London (103 Strand) : J. Grives, 27 April 1788.

1 print : soft ground etching with aquatint, printed in sepia, with watercolour ; platemark 32.8 x 47.9 cm.

A view of a Hindoo monument ; drawn on the spot & engraved by W. Hodges

Two other impressions, one with watercolour and one in monochrome, also exist in the collection.

Travel in aquatint and lithography 1770-1860 from the library of J.R. Abbey, San Francisco 1991, vol. 2, no. 416.48

Wellcome Collection 26664i