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Indian, India

Portrait of a Lady, 1600s

Description

Maker

Culture

Indian

Title

Portrait of a Lady

Year

1600s

Medium

Ink and watercolor on paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Supports

Dimensions

15.6 x 8.9 cm (6 1/8 x 3 1/2 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed number in ink on label adhered to side B, top left:P687A; On reverse:page of nasta'liq script in black on cream-colored ground with intervening isles of gold containing decoration of flowers

Place

India; India

Type

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

17.478

About

In this miniature painting, a woman holds a tiny wine cup in one hand and a bottle in the other. She wears a cap and jeweled headband customary of Mughal aristocrats and is adorned with pearls and rubies. The artist has positioned her in profile view at a jharokha, a balcony at the side of a building. This format, popularized by the Mughal emperors, often featured a carpet hanging over the balcony and a tapestry rolled at the top.

Inscribed number in ink on label adhered to side B, top left:P687A; On reverse:page of nasta'liq script in black on cream-colored ground with intervening isles of gold containing decoration of flowers

India; India
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Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Indian Art for the RISD Collection

August 23, 1985 - March 9, 1986

The Mughal emperors of India were avid compilers of albums in which couplets of Persian poetry, used as a vehicle for the calligraphers virtuosity, were interspersed with miniature paintings, and occasionally even exotic items such as fragments of European prints. These albums were in effect the museums of their time, for they frequently contained the precious works of past masters of Islamic calligraphy and painting.

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Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Portrait of a Lady with the accession number of 17.478. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.