Opium Smokers Served Fruit and Bread

c. 1750

India, Mughal Dynasty

(1526-1756)

Medium

Gum tempera and gold on paper

Measurements

Image: 18.5 x 29 cm (7 5/16 x 11 7/16 in.); with mat: 36.3 x 49 cm (14 5/16 x 19 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1971.90

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Location

Not on view

Description

A red sandstone terrace and veranda covered with a straw mat is the setting for an assemblage of more than 30 religious figures and nobles, most of whom are depicted in varying stages of intoxication and hangovers. To the left of center is a female ascetic wearing a peach-colored robe, and throughout the composition Sufi mystics wearing blue are interspersed with white-robed clerics and Mughal nobles. Some lucidly engage in discussions, while others prepare, ingest, and experience the effects of cannabis or opium known to have been taken regularly by those seeking mind-altering states. Watermelons, apples, and flatbread are being distributed among the assembled guests.