Important Notice

JODHPUR, CIRCA 1780
Gouache on paper heightened with gold
Image: 5.5 x 3.75 in (13.9 x 9.5 cm)
Folio: 7.5 x 5.25 in (19 x 13.3 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
The Tandan Collection


This striking and unusual work is a rare interpretation of a nayika returning from a night tryst with her lover. The black colour which casts a shadow and frames her may represent the night she leaves behind as she places one foot toward the white of dawn. Set against a minimalist background, the focus is firmly placed on the elongated, brightly dressed female form.

The nayika-bheda extends beyond the eight types of heroines initially categorized. Poets such as Bharata, Dhananjaya, Bhanudatta, and Vishwanath further classified these heroines into sub-types. Artists based their heroines on the characterisations described in the texts by these poets.

Two Mughal miniatures, similar to this unusual subject, depicting maidens holding a lamp and a firework are in the Royal Collection,Windsor, RCN. No.1005068, folios 4v and 5r.

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