A Disconsolate Lady on a Terrace with Attendants

c. 1730

Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Raghogarh

Medium

Measurements

Page: 28.3 x 22.9 cm (11 1/8 x 9 in.); Miniature: 23.5 x 15.2 cm (9 1/4 x 6 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.185

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Her loose hair and seating posture with one leg outstretched indicate that she is losing hope.

Description

This princess is waiting for her lover to arrive. Thinking of him, she touches her breast and her lap, while one attendant keeps flies off with the royal whisk, and the other bites her finger in a gesture of astonishment. The artist has whimsically manipulated elements of the landscape, such as the blazing sun peeking out from behind the flat black hill at the lower left corner, and invading the yellow strip at the top with blocks of blue sky to accommodate the finials of the palace rooftops.