The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Leaf from the Late Shah Jahan Album: Harem Night-Bathing Scene (recto); Calligraphy Framed by an Ornamental Border of Flowers and Birds (verso)

c. 1650

Mughal India, court of Shah Jahan

(reigned 1628–58)
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 37.8 x 27.6 cm (14 7/8 x 10 7/8 in.); Painting only: 19.4 x 14.1 cm (7 5/8 x 5 9/16 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alton W. Whitehouse 1987.153
Location: 242B Indian Painting(not visible)

Did You Know?

The lone male figure points to his mouth in a gesture of astonishment, perhaps at the beauty of the scene.

Description

The subject of women bathing persisted throughout the 1500s and into the 1600s. Akbar’s grandson Shah Jahan—the Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal—continued to support the work of artists in the imperial atelier. His taste was more formal and subdued, without as much interest in illuminations of fantastic tales. This scene is a single painting mounted in an album. The white marble terraces glow under the moonlight. An attendant carrying a cloth over one arm looks on with awe at the beauty of the scene. He is probably a eunuch, since men were not permitted to serve in the women’s quarters of a Mughal palace.
  • 1987–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Tōyō kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [東洋絵画の精華: 特别展: クリーヴラント美術館のコレクションから= Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Nara, Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998. Reproduced: p. 26, cat. no. 5
  • Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 28-November 2, 2015).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 18, 2004-May 23, 2005).
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 4-August 5, 2003).
    Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).
    The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
  • {{cite web|title=Leaf from the Late Shah Jahan Album: Harem Night-Bathing Scene (recto); Calligraphy Framed by an Ornamental Border of Flowers and Birds (verso)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1650|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.153