Artwork Page for Royal Women Celebrating Diwali

Details / Information for Royal Women Celebrating Diwali

Royal Women Celebrating Diwali

c. 1760

Northern India, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow

Medium
gum tempera and gold on paper
Measurements
Image: 20.5 x 24.7 cm (8 1/16 x 9 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1971.82
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

"Diwali" comes from the Sanskrit words dīpa (lamp) and āvali (rows or series).

Description

Lined along the eaves, the top of the marble lattice railing, and the rims of the boats on the river are candles and butter lamps lit in celebration of a New Year festival. A princess on a golden armchair lights sparklers with her friends. In the boats and on the far shore men set off sparklers under the light of a magnificent firework display under the full moon.

The style of this work is typical of Mughal painting from the mid-1700s, when scenes of domestic life among women of the court were a favorite subject for the imperial artists.
A horizontally oriented tempera painting depicts women with light skin tones holding sparklers showering gold. Left, a woman sits in an armchair, two women standing behind her, and holds out her sparkler to meet the sparks of another woman holding a sparkler. Right, a woman holds a sparkler from within one of two white buildings flanking the scene. Behind, boats sail across water and sparks shoot into the air from the opposite bank, covering the moonlit sky.

Royal Women Celebrating Diwali

c. 1760

Northern India, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow

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