The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

A princess reclining on a terrace with attendants

A princess reclining on a terrace with attendants

c. 1730–1740
Gum tempera and gold on paper
Page: 20.6 x 30.6 cm (8 1/8 x 12 1/16 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 2013.338
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

White is the color worn by widows.

Description

This scene presents an idealized view of the life of a Mughal princess. Bejeweled and dressed in costly garments, she reclines on a couch set up on a white marble terrace. She watches two musicians sing and clap time, and a companion pours for her a cup of liquor. Two attendants stand behind, one waving a whisk to keep away the insects and another holding a box of paan, a betel-leaf preparation for freshening the breath. At the far right an older woman of the harem holds a fan while enjoying a hookah.
  • Sotheby’s, London, Important Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, 11 April 1961, lot 35
    Collection of Prince Michael Radziwill (b. 1907), London
    Christie’s, London, Art and Textiles of the Islamic and Indian World, 7 October 2011, lot 391
    Ramesh Kapoor, New York, until March 2012
  • Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (7/31/2016-10/23/2016); Art and Stories from Mughal India, cat. 77, p. 297.
  • {{cite web|title=A princess reclining on a terrace with attendants|url=false|author=|year=c. 1730–1740|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.338