A PREPARATORY DRAWING OF A NAYIKA UNDER A TREE
PROPERTY FROM THE STUART CARY WELCH COLLECTION
Possibly Bikaner, Rajasthan, North-Western India, late 18th century

Ink and pencil heightened with gold and opaque pigments on wove paper, the vertical preparatory drawing portraying an Indian maiden standing under a tree, pulling a flowering branch to her side, holding a small drinking cup in the other hand, clad in the typical Rajasthani ghagra choli attire with a diaphanous dupatta shawl wrapped around her head, right shoulder and waist, wearing several strands of pearls around her neck, the reverse with several numerical annotations in pencil and pen, mounted on a black paper panel, the drawing 24.5cm x 17cm, 35cm x 24.7cm including the mount.