- Title
- Lady Being Entertained on a Moonlit Terrace (recto); Calligraphy (verso)
- Date Made
- circa 1725-1750; calligraphy: 1712
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- Image: 9 1/8 x 5 7/8 in. (23.18 x 14.92 cm); Sheet: 16 1/4 x 11 1/2 in. (41.28 x 29.21 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.72.36.2
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Paintings of princesses and women of the harem relaxing or languishing on a palace terrace while enjoying music, wine, and other pleasures, as well as celebrating festivals and playing games, became a stock motif in the 18th century for portraying the luxurious lifestyle of the Indian royalty. Such stereotypical portraits were created not only to depict a particular court, but also to project a calculated image of the wealth and prestige of the kingdom. Typically accompanied by serving maidens and attendants, the privileged royals indulged in a range of pastimes in these classic “terrace-scenes.” Princesses might lounge on a platform bed while listening to music and partaking of wine and food delicacies (see this folio and M.84.228.1), or they might recline languidly on the bed disconsolate over an absent lover while receiving a foot massage and being fanned by maidservants (see M.72.88.8 and M.76.149.3) or tenderly consoled (see M.77.154.24). These idealized portraits of women imbibing or pining on terraces parallel thematically similar representations of heroines (nayikas) in various emotional states, often yearning to be united with their paramours. Their erotic desire is a metaphor for the soul’s quest for the divine.
Recto: A princess sips wine while listening to music on a moonlit night. The companion in the foreground is grilling skewers of meat on a portable grill.
Verso: Panel of calligraphy signed by Abu al-Fath and dated 24 (likely short for AH 1124 [1712 CE]).
