A JHAROKHA PORTRAIT OF A EUROPEAN MAIDEN AFTER AN ENGLISH PRINT
Rajasthani school, North-Western India, mid to late 19th century

Opaque pigments on paper, the vertical portrait depicting a European lady seated on a balcony (jharokha) looking at the beholder, wearing a wide-brimmed green hat and a red cloak with a fur-lined hood, mounted, glazed, and framed, the folio 22cm x 14cm, 42cm x 34cm including the frame.

Jharokha portraits were rather popular in the Mughal era. They were mostly used to depict eminent royal subjects, such as the Mughal emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan, but also Rajput rulers and occasionally, the most favoured courtiers. This painting offers a charming blend of a typical Indian stylistic portrait arrangement and a foreign subject, possibly inspired by an English print.