Untitled (portraits in palms with henna)

1970s
Image: 11.3 x 13.5 cm (4 7/16 x 5 5/16 in.); Paper: 11.8 x 13.9 cm (4 5/8 x 5 1/2 in.)
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location: not on view

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Description

Two hands of a bride, with a ring on every finger and vegetal patterns drawn in henna, offer superimposed photographic images of a man and woman––probably the bride and groom––as though they are gifts of coins or flowers to the viewer. Their beautiful faces stand for the auspiciousness that their marriage and wealth imply. Jewelry and fancy textiles are seen in the background, colored with a translucent tint of turquoise blue. This color is associated in Muslim circles with paradise, but the groom’s tilak, a mark on the forehead, indicates that he is Hindu.
Untitled (portraits in palms with henna)

Untitled (portraits in palms with henna)

1970s

India, 20th century

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