A COURTLY LADY RECITING A MANTRA
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE SCOTTISH ESTATE
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, North-Western India, late 19th century

Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the vertical composition depicting a heavily bejewelled courtly lady kneeling on a terrace of a palatial complex reading a mantra written in Devanagari script from a book she's holding, in front of her a small low table with a pair of rosewater sprinklers and empty drinking cups, possibly suggesting her lover is about to join her or has already left, set within black and white rules, and blue and red borders, 20cm x 14.5cm.