A Heroine Plucking a Flower: Page from a Dispersed Nayikabheda

India (Madhya Pradesh, Malwa)

Not on view

The artist instilled this painting with an iconography of longing: the empty bed, the solitary nayika (heroine), and the forlorn call of the peacock. The patterned raindrops, stylized creepers, and surface treatment of the architecture distinguish this manuscript from other work done in the Malwa courts. The figural type suggests an awareness of the Mewar or Bundi traditions; the use of a black sky and a red color field behind are typical of the archaic tastes of Malwa production, which survived into the late seventeenth century.

A Heroine Plucking a Flower:  Page from a Dispersed Nayikabheda, Ink and opaque watercolor on paper, India (Madhya Pradesh, Malwa)

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.