A COURTLY COUPLE BY A LOTUS POND
Bundi or Kota, Rajasthan, North-Western India, 19th century

Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, a busy scene depicting a courtly couple resting on a stilt platform over a lotus pond accompanied by three female attendants, in the pond various wildlife among many lotus flowers, in the background a number of birds surrounding a fire torch, including four peacocks, two small herons, and a pair of flying ducks, the emphasis on pairs and companionship (7 pairs of birds in total) enhancing the strong bond between the lovers in the centre of the painting, the vertical composition encased within a black and bold red border with white black and yellow rulings and mounted onto white board with a gold painted inner edge, 25cm x 34.2cm.