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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1972.82
People
Unknown Artist
Title
Female Courtier On a Rampart Smoking a Hookah, While Watching a Flight of Birds
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting
Date
early 19th century
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Himachal Pradesh, Kangra
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/213054

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; Pahari School, Kangra Style
Dimensions
sight: 23.8 x 15.8 cm (9 3/8 x 6 1/4 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of John Kenneth Galbraith
Accession Year
1972
Object Number
1972.82
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Standing on a white marble rampart is female figure. She wears a red-orange dress decorated with gold dots and gold trim. Her hair is partially covered with an orange and gold scarf that wraps around the top of her body and covers her back. She wears bracelets, rings, necklaces, earrings, ear ornaments, a nose ring, and a head ornament. Her hands and her feet are dyed red with henna. She looks up to the dark grey sky with black clouds, watching a flock of birds fly across the sky in a line. She holds up a long pearl necklace in her right hand to the sky. In her left, she holds onto a hookah mouthpiece. The pipe can be traced to her female attendant that holds the hookah base. The attendant wears a blue-green dress and an orange head scarf. Her finger times and soles of her feet are dyed red with henna. She wears bracelets, armlets, necklaces, earrings, ear ornaments, a nose ring, and head ornament. In the bottom left is a glimpse of the tops of trees, implying the height of the rampart. Pahari School, Kangra Style.

Exhibition History

  • Rasika, the Discerning Connoisseur: Indian Paintings from the John Kenneth Galbraith Collection, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/1998 - 04/05/1998

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu