An illustration of Nayika preparing to meet her beloved, Kangra, mid 19th century

An illustration to a Nayika series: awaiting her lover
Kangra, mid 19th century

watercolor heightened with gold paper

Height 7⅔ in., 19.5 cm; Width 5 in., 12.7 cm

Catalogue Note:
A nayika kneels on a gold and jeweled plinth, naked except for a transparent wrap and gold jewelry. Her lithe body turns as she wrings out her long black hair on the white marble terrace of the zenana. The woman is accompanied by four attentive handmaidens holding vessels that contain body oils, perfumes, ointments and lac for the palms of her hands and soles of her feet. As she prepares to greet her lover, the air is tense with anticipation.

The blue, cloudy sky is streaked with red, rendering an evening sunset. In the middle distance rises a gray lotus-filled pond, the blossoms and leaves large and freshly blooming. In the far distance, a village set among steep hillsides is visible. Amidst its population of cowherds and small structures, two tiny mounted nobles gallop in from the left and right. Compare these landscape features to a work signed by the artist Har Jaimal in W.G. Archer’s Visions of Courtly India, Washington D.C., 1976, no.73 and 74.

Provenance:
Christie's New York, 6th July 1978, lot 64.

Collection of Dr. Alec Simpson.