This painting is signed in white by the artist Nidha Mal (active circa 1735-1775) below the proffered right hand of the elderly lady in the center of the composition. (Translation by B.N. Goswamy.) Nidha Mal began his career in Delhi under Emperor Muhammad Shah (r. 1719-48), who inaugurated the so-called “Muhammad Shahi Revival” of a refined aesthetic and greater naturalism in painting. After Muhammad Shah’s death in 1748, Nidha Mal migrated to Lucknow, where he worked under Nawab Safdar Jang (r. 1739-1754) and Nawab Shuja al-Daula (r. 1754-1775). Nidha Mal was a highly versatile artist who excelled at portraiture, court entertainment scenes, and elaborate compositions in architectural settings.
In this detailed vignette of a large domestic compound, the family elders sit on a platform bed. The patriarch smokes a handheld hookah, while the matriarch hands him a betelnut pan quid. They are flanked by a middle-aged man and woman, presumably their oldest son and wife. Around them, a woman prepares pan and children are tended by family members and servants. In the rooms of the house, a man smokes hookah on a porch, Women are preparing meals in two kitchens supplied with myriad cooking utensils, water vessels, and a balance scale. In the upper verandah, a bearded man converses with a young man.
For another Lucknow genre scene, see M.77.154.2.
