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A Court Beauty

Chokha Indian
1805–10
Not on view
This remarkably bold painting of a courtesan from Udaipur is a witty visual play on the blinds used to shield balconies and interior spaces from the blistering rays of the Indian sun. Large in scale, it echoes in size the actual blinds and cusped arch framing devices of Rajput palace architecture. The painting was likely produced at the request of Maharaja Bhim Singh (r. 1778–1828), presumably to display in a room or balcony given over to receiving his courtesans. The young woman stretches her hands above her head in a gesture of longing; her large lotus-shaped eye, which draws on the Kishangarh style of portraiture, adds to her overt appeal. A child, presumably one of the maharaja’s many progeny, pulls at her shirt for attention. The painting is inscribed phutadya (“a beauty”).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A Court Beauty
  • Artist: Chokha (Indian, active 1799–ca. 1826)
  • Date: 1805–10
  • Culture: India, Rajasthan, Udaipur
  • Medium: Opaque watercolor, gold and tin on cotton cloth
  • Dimensions: Image: 48 7/16 in. × 24 in. (123 × 61 cm)
    Framed: 55 in. × 30 3/4 in. × 2 1/4 in. (139.7 × 78.1 × 5.7 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, by exchange, 2022
  • Object Number: 2022.228
  • Rights and Reproduction: Image © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Radha Crosses a River to Interview a Hindu Sage, Chokha Indian, Ink, opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper, India (Rajasthan, Mewar)
Radha Crosses a River to Interview a Hindu Sage
Chokha
ca. 1820
Maharana Bhim Singh and Retinue Embark on a Hunt, Chokha Indian, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, Western India, Rajasthan, Udaipur or Devgarh
Maharana Bhim Singh and Retinue Embark on a Hunt
Chokha
ca. 1805–10
Escapade at Night:, Chokha Indian, Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper, India (Rajasthan, Mewar)
Escapade at Night:
Chokha
ca. 1800–10
Rawat Gokul Das Hunting Boar, Chokha Indian, Opaque watercolor on paper, India (Devgarh, Mewar, Rajasthan)
Returned to lender
Rawat Gokul Das Hunting Boar
Chokha
dated 1811
Maharana Bhim Singh and His Sons in the Surya Mahal, Chokha Indian, Opaque watercolor on paper, India (Udaipur, Mewar, Rajasthan)
Returned to lender
Maharana Bhim Singh and His Sons in the Surya Mahal
Chokha
ca. 1810

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