Nautch-Dance, from National Dances (N225, Type 1) issued by Kinney Bros. 1889

This small chromolithograph, made by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, is a reminder that art can be embedded in the most unexpected places. It was mass-produced as a collectible insert in cigarette packs, featuring a 'Nautch-Dance' as part of a series on national dances. The medium, chromolithography, is critical here; it allowed for relatively inexpensive color printing, which was essential for the mass distribution of these cards. Look closely, and you’ll see the layering of colors, a hallmark of the process. The dancer’s pose, her elaborate jewelry and costume, all speak to an orientalist fantasy popular at the time. But the card’s primary purpose was to sell tobacco. The Kinney Brothers were tapping into a globalized market, where cultural imagery became a commodity, packaged and sold alongside cigarettes. The making of this artwork is thus inseparable from the larger forces of industry, labor, and consumption.