In 19th century Kerala, Matrilineal woman such as Ikkavu Thampuran found themselves in a tough spot as the Patriarchal Colonial world, full of its sense of modesty and morality, was colliding into their traditionally female dominated spaces. 

Most Malayali women (whether upper caste or lower caste) did not cover the upper part of their body, especially the breasts, as blouses were associated with foreign women and prostitutes. This however began to change rapidly with colonial pressure on women to put on blouses, with much of the female staff of the Travancore Rajah's palace establishment being required to wear blouses to work by the 1880s. In the much more orthodox Cochin royal family however, several royal women remained committed to not touching a blouse as late as the 1970s. 

However, as a compromise to Colonialism, the Queens of cochin decided to only cover their breasts (by putting a cloth over them) when being asked to sit for a photograph or painting intended for a white audience. After the sitting, the cloth would be thrown away and the Queen would go back to whatever she was doing in her normal attire: a mundu below the waist, a few ornaments and her hair adorned with the dasha-pushpam (ten flowers). 

Source of painting: [https://rrvhfoundation.com/services-p01.html](https://rrvhfoundation.com/services-p01.html) Raja Ravi Varma Foundation. 

Note: Although the above painting of Ikkavu Thampuran is often associated with Raja Ravi Varma, this is a common misattribution as Ravi Varma never painted a Cochin royal. This painting was likely painted by a local cochin artist. 



This 1875 painting of Rani Ikkavu Thampuran of Cochin shows the Queen loosely covering her upper body with a mundu (cloth), in order to appear "modest" for a photograph/painting intended for a white audience. Afterward, she would go back to her usual topless attire, normal for the time period.