Painting
ca. 1751 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Painting, gouache or opaque watercolour and gold on paper, a tiny figure in a white turban and orange-brown jama (tied to the right in Muslim fashion) sits smoking a hookah at the window of a palace. He gazes to the right where two figures attend to him. Three figures are at a window on the right and four more are on the left. Below, in the courtyard are two groups of servants, their jamas tied to the left Hindu-style. Some of courtiers and servants are letting off fireworks, one holding an up-turned bowl, another a bird-cage, and three holding hawks.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in gouache or opaque watercolour and gold on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, firework display, by Nainsukh, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Jammu, ca. 1751 |
| Physical description | Painting, gouache or opaque watercolour and gold on paper, a tiny figure in a white turban and orange-brown jama (tied to the right in Muslim fashion) sits smoking a hookah at the window of a palace. He gazes to the right where two figures attend to him. Three figures are at a window on the right and four more are on the left. Below, in the courtyard are two groups of servants, their jamas tied to the left Hindu-style. Some of courtiers and servants are letting off fireworks, one holding an up-turned bowl, another a bird-cage, and three holding hawks. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | A tiny figure in a white turban and orange-brown jama (tied to the right in Muslim fashion) sits smoking a hookah at the window of a palace. He gazes to the right where two figures attend to him. Three figures are at a window on the right and four more are on the left. Below, in the courtyard are two groups of servants, their jamas tied to the left Hindu-style. Some of courtiers and servants are letting off fireworks, one holding an up-turned bowl, another a bird-cage, and three holding hawks. |
| Styles | |
| Credit line | Purchased from Dr A. K. Coomaraswamy |
| Object history | It is possible that the central figure could be Mir Mannu, a Basohli ruler, or even Balwant Singh, a major patron of the artist Nainsukh, himself. The other possibility is that the tiny figure in the palace on the extreme left may be Balwant Singh with the presiding figure as a Mughal prince or Hill ruler privileged to tie his jama to the right, in Muslim fashion. The V&A purchased the painting in 1912 from Dr A.K. Coomaraswamy, a renowned historian of Indian art. Purchased from Dr A. K. Coomaraswamy, 39 Brookfield, West Hill, Highgate, N. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project. RP 1911- 6719M |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | IM.5-1912 |
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| Record created | January 8, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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