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Indian, India

Portrait of a Standing Woman, 1700s

Now On View

Description

Maker

Culture

Indian

Title

Portrait of a Standing Woman

Year

1700s

Medium

Opaque watercolor and gold on paper mounted as an album page

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Supports

Dimensions

18.1 x 6.7 cm (7 1/8 x 2 5/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed number in ink on label adhered to side B, top left:P592A;On reverse:calligraphy on gold spattered greenish grey in two trapezoidal compartments; green and pink scroll design on gold in the i

Place

India; India

Type

Credit

Anonymous gift

Object Number

17.488

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Shahzia Sikander

November 12, 2021 - January 30, 2022

Standing female figures in transparent dress were a common subject in South Asian illustrated-manuscript painting. Even when created as portraits, these depictions were idealized, and typically paired with poetry. Beautifully ornamented calligraphic texts are found on the back of both of these works.

Sikander copied such paintings as a student, and similar figures can be seen beneath layers of imagery in some of her paintings in this exhibition. Female figures like these continue to inspire Sikander’s large-scale watercolors and mosaics.

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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 Standing Woman with the accession number of 17.488. 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.