Lot 17D
South Asia, India, Mughal Empire, ca. 19th century CE. A stunning depiction of a seductive Mughal princess sitting outdoors on an elegant chair overlooking the royal gardens with the azure blue skies overhead. The artist presents the fair lady in a diaphanous silk dress that tastefully reveals her voluptuous breasts, as she is smoking hashish through a Hookah water pipe. The princess is also bedecked in an elaborate royal jewelry ensemble comprised of a four-strand beaded necklace, earrings, bracelets, as well as ankle bands - all finely delineated in golden hues which make a lovely contrast with her alabaster white complexion. Her facial expression is serene with almond-shaped eyes, arched brows, a naturalistic nose, and heart-shaped pink lips - this beautiful visage framed by a long black, centrally parted coiffure, with an embroidered red hat completing her outfit. Finely painted on paper (either Bansaha from crushed bamboo, Tatha from jute, or Tulat from cotton) and matted in silk under glass in a gilded frame.Size: 19.5" L x 13.5" W (49.5 cm x 34.3 cm); 28" L x 22" W (71.1 cm x 55.9 cm) in frame
Mughal painting refers to a type of miniature painting - either serving as book illustrations or created as single work. The term miniature suggests a tiny scale; however, it actually indicates a style of watercolor work similar to early European book illustrations that used the red pigment minia. Some Indian miniatures are in fact quite large. The Mughal style stems from Persian miniature painting, though with Indian Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist influences, evolving largely throughout the Mughal Empire (16th to 19th centuries), and eventually spreading to other Indian courts - Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh - flourishing during the reigns of Akbar, Shah Jahan, and Jahangir. The tradition continues today with Mughal-style miniature paintings still being created, though by a relatively small number of artists in Rajasthan.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex Butterfield auction
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#123621
- Condition: Overall excellent save minor surface wear.
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