Heroine with attendant and a pair of deer

c. 1710–20

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

Medium

Measurements

Page: 21.9 x 15.6 cm (8 5/8 x 6 1/8 in.); Image: 16.7 x 10.1 cm (6 9/16 x 4 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.108

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Location

242B Indian Painting

Did You Know?

The lady fondling the deer is adorned in a transparent muslin shawl.

Description

A heroine’s ardor for her absent lover is so strong that it attracts a deer and doe, otherwise shy animals. The woman holding a stringed instrument at the right signals that this scene has a musical theme. Intensely staring gazes, the heroine’s elongated legs, the impossible turn of her head in the opposite direction as her feet, and the unaided dance of her hems add to the miraculous quality of the scene.