A princess on a terrace with attendants at night (recto); Calligraphy (verso)

Before a terrace pavilion in the women’s quarters of a palace, a royal woman stretches to show off her figure in accordance with age-old Indian poetic imagery. Female musicians provide entertainment, and attendants hold bottles of wine at the ready. Scenes of enjoyment in sumptuous domestic spaces pervaded the artistic repertoire of the imperial court and regional centers of northern India throughout the late 1700s, following the themes set by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah.