Collection Online as of October 1, 2023
Women playing at cross-dressing
c. 1680–1700; border added 1800s
Ink heightened with colors on paper
Page: 33.5 x 26.7 cm (13 3/16 x 10 1/2 in.); Painting: 23.6 x 16 cm (9 5/16 x 6 5/16 in.)
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 2013.290
Location
not on view
Description
In this scene harem women act out the visit of a prince. One of them has donned a man’s royal feathered turban, and a lady affectionately offers a cup of wine as attendants stand by with two more bottles, a fan, and a rose.
The master artist of an Indian painting workshop would draw the composition and make visual notations as to which colors and patterns should be used. The drawing would then be given to a colorist to paint, with final details rendered by another artist or the initial master.