Artwork Page for A prince celebrating Holi with palace women on a terrace at night (recto); calligraphy of a quatrain (verso)

Details / Information for A prince celebrating Holi with palace women on a terrace at night (recto); calligraphy of a quatrain (verso)

A prince celebrating Holi with palace women on a terrace at night (recto); calligraphy of a quatrain (verso)

c. 1760

India, Farrukhabad, Mughal, 18th century

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Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Measurements
Page: 28.2 x 20.2 cm (11 1/8 x 7 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 2013.342
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Pairs of ducks swim under the full moon on the night of the vernal equinox.

Description

Images of pleasure and play abound in Mughal paintings of the latter half of the 1700s. Under a full moon reflected off a river and by the light of candles, a prince celebrates the spring festival of Holi with a group of palace women. Holi festivities include the boisterous tradition of smearing one another with colored powders—shown heaped on dishes—or shooting colored liquid using plunger guns.
A vertically oriented gum tempera painting in dark tones depicts nine people with light skin tones on a gray terrace. A turbaned man reaches for a woman in yellow and pink garments, while seven women surround them, including two playing a lute and drum. Behind them, a green and gold hexagonal pavilion stands under a full moon. Gold vessels and lit candles sit near an orange railing in the foreground.

A prince celebrating Holi with palace women on a terrace at night (recto); calligraphy of a quatrain (verso)

c. 1760

India, Farrukhabad, Mughal, 18th century

See Also

  • Collection
    Indian
  • Department
    Indian and Southeast Asian Art
  • Type of artwork
    Painting
  • Medium
    Tempera
  • Credit line
    Gift In Honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by Exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection

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