Three watercolour studies of figures, two of whom are dancers in costume and the third a Buddhist monk. All three figures are seated. Inscribed by the artist along the left-hand side: 'Devil Dancers'.

A pencil and ink drawing depicting Albert Edward, Prince of Wales watching a Pera-hera rehearsal, with a procession of elephants and a group of masked dancers, outside the Governor's Residence at Kandy, on 2 December 1875. 

These studies were made by Hall on 2 December 1875, when Albert Edward, Prince of Wales watched a Pera-hera rehearsal, with a procession of elephants and a group of masked dancers, outside the Governor's Residence at Kandy in Sri Lanka. Pera-hera, an annual Buddhist festival, is usually celebrated in Kandy in July or August, and so this rehearsal was staged especially for Albert Edward during his tour of the Indian subcontinent. The event is a typical example of the sort of spectacle mounted for the prince’s entertainment during his tour, and much of the British press’s coverage of it focused on the 'exotic' sights and spectacles encountered by the royal tourist.

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and later King Edward VII (r.1901-10), visited Kandy as part of an extensive tour of the Indian subcontinent. He embarked HMS Serapis in October 1875 and visited more than 21 towns and cities across parts of modern-day India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal before returning in May 1876. Albert Edward’s tour of India was envisaged as a way of forging diplomatic links between the Indian rulers and the British Crown. The tour was extensively covered in the British press pictorially as well as in the form of descriptive accounts of the royal engagements undertaken by Albert Edward and the entertainments and activities he enjoyed. Though there were controversies before the tour began about its expense and purpose, ultimately from the British perspective it was considered successful and the prince received a warm reception in the places he visited. The response on the Indian subcontinent to Albert Edward's tour, and what it symbolised in terms of imperial rule and colonial relations, was more mixed.

Gift-giving was an important aspect of Indian diplomacy, and thus the prince exchanged gifts with the many rulers he met during his travels. However, the monetary value of the gifts given by Albert Edward was not always commensurate with that of the objects presented to him. Some of the most significant Indian works of art in the Royal Collection today were acquired during this tour. On his return to England, Albert Edward arranged for these to be exhibited to the wider public, first at the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria & Albert Museum) and then at nine further venues across England, Scotland and Europe. In England and Scotland alone, more than 2.5 million visitors saw the Indian works of art.

Sydney Prior Hall was a draughtsman and illustrator who worked for the Graphic newspaper, as well as a portrait painter. He was invited to accompany the tour of India made by the Prince of Wales as Special Artist, and his watercolours of India were exhibited in 1876 at the South Kensington Museum along with some of the gifts given to Albert Edward. Many of the drawings Hall made during the tour, including this one, were also reproduced as illustrations to The Prince of Wales's Tour. A Diary in India (1877) by William Russell, a reporter for The Times newspaper who joined the tour in the capacity of Albert Edward's Honourable Private Secretary. Sydney Prior Hall maintained a friendship with the prince after the tour, and Albert Edward often visited his studio in London.

This drawing is housed in one of three albums containing sketches relating to the Prince of Wales's tour in India.