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Delhi
pigments and gold on paper, painted gilt arabesque borders
A finely painted portrait of a seated lady, most likely a courtesan, as suggested by her stance and attire. She wears loose fitting pyjamas and a bodice under a diaphanous odhani or veil and is seated against a large blue bolster. A female attendant stands behind her holding a fly-whisk. Assorted gilded cups and a betel box are placed beside her on an intricately patterned floral carpet. A scene of a moonlit lake and hills visible in the distance through a marbled balcony.
Courtesans (tawaifs) occupied an honoured place in the Muslim cultures of India, especially in Lucknow and Delhi. They were trained to be women of great refinement, skilled in music and dancing and appreciative of courtly literature in Persian and Urdu. Their company was eagerly sought by the great men of Delhi, and they would entertain their visitors by performing a nautch (dance).
Miniature Size (cms): 18.3 (L) x 13.5 (W)
Miniature Size (inch): 7.2 (L) x 5.3 (W)
Page Size (cms): 33.5 (L) x 25 (W)
Page Size (inch): 13.2 (L) x 9.8 (W)
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Andhra Pradesh (South India)
Wood
These horse brackets once formed the two ends of a door lintel. The horse or ashva was a very popular motif in architectural wood carvings in South India. Its prototype, the divine Uchchaihshravas emerged from the churning of the ocean. It was white and endowed with wings. The god Indra appropriated it and, after cutting its wings to ensure that it would remain on earth, donated it to mankind.
The horse played a pivotal role in establishing the supremacy of kings, as demonstrated, for instance by the great horse sacrifice, the Ashvamedha, which might have been established in the course of the Vedic period. Equestrian motifs appear prominently in Indian art, for example in Orissan sculpture of the 12th and 13th centuries, and in that of the late Vijaynagara and Nayak periods (early 16th to early 18th century) in southern India. There is a branch of literature specialising in the training of horses, which contains detailed passages on colouring, proportions, gait, auspicious and inauspicious marks and lists of appropriate names for horses.
Individual Sizes (cms): 36 (H) x 61 (W) x 15 (D)
Individual Sizes (inches): 14.2 (H) x 24 (W) x 5.9 (D)
