f.31
recto:

Princess on a terrace, c.1700.

A Mughal princess (whose head was originally surrounded by a halo) sits on a carpeted terrace overlooking a lake with a landscape and town in the background. She holds a flask and a cup in her hands and a selection of fruits, paan and other flasks have been placed in front of her. An attendant fans her with a cloth from behind while two musicians play as two singers sing and clap along. In the distance a shepherd can be seen approaching the town with his flock of goats and sheep. Two cranes stand in the lake.

Intimate scenes of Mughal women in domestic and outdoor settings were common in the 17th and early 18th centuries.

verso:

a Black Dumba ram, 17th century.

Painting of a black, hornless, fat-tailed ram known as a dumba, facing left against a plain background and wearing gold enamelled collar. This breed of sheep stores large amounts of fat in the tail and region of the rump which was an ingredient used extensively in Mughal cooking.

The ground and sky are later additions.


For further information on this album see RCIN 1005069.