- Title
- Ladies Relaxing on a Moonlit Terrace (recto); Calligraphy (verso)
- Date Made
- circa 1750-1775
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 16 1/4 x 10 7/8 in. (41.28 x 27.62 cm); Image: 9 1/2 x 6 1/4 in. (24.13 x 15.88 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.72.88.8
- 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 M.72.36.2 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 this folio 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.
A princess lounges on a platform bed on a moonlit terrace while receiving a foot massage from a young masseuse. A maidservant fans her and another brings her a covered container. A second lady is seated before fruit and wine while listening to a musician.
