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Dr Jennifer Howes

@jhowesuk.bsky.social

1.1K followers 270 following 290 posts

Art Historian looking for dirt on Britain’s imperial past in museums & archives. Author of “The Art of a Corporation: The East India Company as Patron and Collector". Wife, mother, pug owner. www.jenniferhowes.com

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · Mar 26

“The India Directors in the Suds”, 1772. “Suds” was a euphemism for sewage. This pic is on the cover of my book, “The Art of a Corporation: The East India Co…” Now in paperback! Get 25% off through Routledge with this code: CISAC2025 @routledgehistory.bsky.social www.routledge.com/The-Art-of-a...

A group of white men recoil in horror at a ghostly apparition of Indian men. The Indians represent victims of the 1772 Bengal Famine & the white men represent the directors of the London-based East India Company.

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · 1d

Want to procure the paperback edition of my book? Go to Routledge's website and use the code TAOC25 to get a 25% discount. www.jenniferhowes.com/the-art-of-a...

Company painting of a bookbinder by an artist from Kolkata/Murshidabad/Lucknow, some time between 1798 and 1804. British library, Add.Or.1111.

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks for including me! It was a wonderful experience and was great to meet you and your colleagues. Was the talk recorded? Will it be posted on-line?

Reposted by Dr Jennifer Howes

Europe & the World at the IHR @ihreurope1500.bsky.social · 6d

FIRST SESSION THIS MONDAY! Join us for "At the Cusp of the Modern? Tipu Sultan, the Family & East India Company Rule", a paper by @eicathomefinn.bsky.social with comment by @jhowesuk.bsky.social

All welcome in person @ihr.bsky.social & on zoom (register for link: www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...)

Europe and the world, 1500-1800, IHR seminar, Mondays, 17:30.
6 October: Margot Finn: At the Cusp of the Modern? Tipu Sultan, the Family & East India Company Rule
10 November: Sari Nauman: Between Categories: Migration, War, and Refuge in the Early Modern Baltic Sea
17 November Roger Lee Jesus: Colonialism and Land: Rethinking Imperial and Local Agency in the Portuguese Empire in Asia
1 December: Ana Lucia Araujo: Dahomey: A West African Kingdom in the Centre of the World During the Eighteenth Century

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · 9d

Up-ended cannons used as ash trays, BBD Bagh, Kolkata.

Muzzle of a cannon protruding from the pavement, BBD Bagh, Kolkata. The cannon and the curb next to it have been painted sky-blue. I took this picture in 2023.

Large cannon muzzle protruding from the cobblestone pavement of BBD Bagh, Kolkata. Behind the cannon there is a shop stall. I took this picture in 2023.

Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · 11d

Oh golly, OOPS!!

Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · 11d

I’m pleased to be taking part in the first seminar in this series, on 6 October 2015, with Margot Finn!!

Europe & the World at the IHR @ihreurope1500.bsky.social · 12d

NEW PROGRAMME! What an exciting one it is!
We're looking forward to thinking with @eicathomefinn.bsky.social, Sari Nauman, @rogerleejesus.bsky.social & @araujohistorian.bsky.social

Mondays, 17:30 @ihr.bsky.social & zoom. All very welcome! www.history.ac.uk/news-events/... #EarlyModern #SkyStorians

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Reposted by Dr Jennifer Howes

Artologica aka Michele Banks @artologica.net · 13d

Morning walk

Wheat paste poster that says the all the world is dying and the new world struggles to be born now is the time of monsters. There's a picture of Elmo

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · 12d

On 6 October 2025 I’ll be the discussant for @eicathomefinn.bsky.social’s paper, “At the Cusp of the Modern? Tipu Sultan, the Family & East India Company Rule”. IHR Europe & the World Seminar, Senate House, London. Hybrid event! Details here www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · 23d

Autumn vibe

Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · 24d

Ran into Col James Skinner in the National Portrait Gallery’s “Colonial Expansion & Experience” room! He was the founder of the irregular cavalry regiment, “Skinner’s Horse”, in early 19th Century India. On permanent loan from @britishlibrary.bsky.social (F9)

www.npg.org.uk/collections/...

Portrait of James Skinner, attributed to Ghulam Husayn Khan, c.1836. British Library collections (F9), now in permanent display in the National Portrait Gallery London (room 10).

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · 25d

Before the internet

Reposted by Dr Jennifer Howes

Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 29d

'Banksy confirmed he was responsible for the work with a post on Instagram, showing the graffiti before it was covered over.'

Banksy 'judge' mural scrubbed from Royal Courts of Justice wall

The artwork of a judge hitting a protester with a gavel has been removed from the listed building.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · 29d

“Calcutta Freed January 11 1757”, from Vice Admiral Charles Watson’s memorial in Westminster Abbey. I’ll be talking about this and other sculptures on a tour of East India Company monuments in Westminster Abbey & St Paul’s Cathedral, Tuesday October 7. Details here: www.bacsa.org.uk/event/westmi...

A woman in Greco-Indian costume genuflecting towards a statue of Vice-Admiral Charles Watson. Below her is an inscription reading “Calcutta Freed January 11 1757”.

Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · 29d

On Tuesday 7 October I’m giving a tour of East India Company monuments in Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral.
Details here…
www.bacsa.org.uk/event/westmi...

Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral: Tour of East India Company and British India-related Memorials and Monuments - BACSA

Tour of East India Company and British India-related Memorials and Monuments at Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral

www.bacsa.org.uk

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Reposted by Dr Jennifer Howes

Sathnam Sanghera @sathnam.bsky.social · Sep 8

It's almost like young people are interested in institutions facing up to their history in a frank and nuanced way

www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

National Trust heartened by surge in young members

Some 40,000 people aged 18-25 signed up in the past year as research suggests young adults are showing more interest in culture, heritage and history

www.thetimes.com

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · Sep 8

Bristol's statue of Edward Colston (1636-1721), made in 1895, is on permanent display in the M Shed Museum's "Bristol People" Gallery. It's a 10 minute walk from the plinth where it stood until 2020.

The statue of Edward Colston, on permanent display in the Bristol People Gallery of the M-Shed Gallery, 2025. It lies recumbent in a massive glass box, surrounded by displays that explain who he was, how the people of Bristol perceive him today, and what happened to the statue in the summer of 2020.

Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · Sep 6

In the crypt of @stpaulscathedral.bsky.social, Mountstuart Elphinstone (1779-1859), Governor of Bombay & Historian of India, has been patiently standing in the cafeteria queue for decades.

Memorial to Mountstuart Elphinstone in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral, London. On one side of his statue is a trolley for cafeteria trays and on the other side there’s a fire extinguisher.

Reposted by Dr Jennifer Howes

Sathnam Sanghera @sathnam.bsky.social · Sep 5

Lovely.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Man who brought curry and shampoo to UK honoured - BBC News

Mr Mahomed, who lived in Brighton, passed away in 1851 and was buried at St Nicholas' Churchyard.

www.bbc.com

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · Sep 5

Oh gosh that’s why it screamed

Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · Sep 5

Is it good luck for carrots to look like that?

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · Sep 5

This year I planted carrots for the first time. I’m baffled by the results.

A carrot grown by Jennifer Howes, summer 2025. To provide scale, Jennifer’s feet are on the left.

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · Sep 5

Silk Road story! Was the bronze lion in Venice’s St Mark’s Square made in Tang Dynasty China? Was it possible to carry a massive chunk of metal such a vast overland distance? www.livescience.com/archaeology/...

Iconic winged lion statue in Venice may actually be from China's Tang dynasty, study finds

A new study of the trace amounts of lead in Venice's famous winged lion statue suggests that its metal originated in China — and Marco Polo's family may have brought it over.

www.livescience.com

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · Sep 2

Oh no, I hope it isn’t looking for you

Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · Sep 2

Fabulous opportunity to do a funded PhD at the University of Oslo, looking at Mughal art and material culture! www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

Doctoral Research Fellowship associated with the ERC-funded project "ECOART" (284672) | University of Oslo

Job title: Doctoral Research Fellowship associated with the ERC-funded project "ECOART" (284672), Employer: University of Oslo, Deadline: Wednesday, October 15, 2025

www.jobbnorge.no

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Dr Jennifer Howes @jhowesuk.bsky.social · Sep 2

I bet that bear smells of strawberries

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