A COURTLY ENTERTAINMENT SCENE
Hyderabad, Deccan, Central India, early 19th century

A COURTLY ENTERTAINMENT SCENE
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTION
Hyderabad, Deccan, Central India, early 19th century

Opaque pigments and ink heightened with gold on paper, the vertical-format composition depicting a crowded entertainment scene on a large terrace in a palace next to a lush garden, four female musicians in the foreground playing traditional Indian musical instruments to delight the Hyderabadi ruler Nawab Sikandar Shikoh and his female companion, another attendant next to the courtly couple pouring wines in their drinking cups, behind them a low table with more beakers and decanters, and ripe fruits on the floor, the ruler identified by two inscriptions in black ink nasta'liq script next to him and at the top of the painting, set within black rules and pasted onto washed red borders, 35.7cm x 25.2cm.

Provenance: once part of a private American collection

Dimensions: 35.7cm x 25.2cm