thumbnail 1
 thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
South Asia Gallery, Room 41

Painting
ca. 1750 - ca. 1755 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Painting, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, a lady standing beneath a tree braiding or drying her hair. Cranes stand on either side of her.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • A woman yearns for a lover (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and gold on paper
Brief description
Painting, lady beneath tree, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, Murshidabad, ca. 1750-1755
Physical description
Painting, opaque watercolour and gold on paper, a lady standing beneath a tree braiding or drying her hair. Cranes stand on either side of her.
Dimensions
  • Height: 250mm (maximum)
  • Width: 154mm (maximum)
  • Image within innermost painted borders height: 226mm (maximum)
  • Image within innermost painted borders width: 132mm (maximum)
14/08/2013 dimensions measured as part of the Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project 2013; object irregular in shape
Content description
A lady standing beneath a tree braiding or drying her hair.
Styles
Gallery label
A woman stands on a bathing stool drying her hair. She is adorned with jewellery and draped in fine fabric, though her breasts remain uncovered. The blossoming tree suggests youthfulness while the cranes are symbols of unsatisfied desire. Cranes are known for living in pairs, however, this artist has depicted two single cranes of different types, the red-headed sarus and the dark grey kunj, to heighten the mood of longing. (March 2022)
Credit line
Purchased from Martinus Nijhoff in 1903
Production
The painting is in the style of the Mughal provincial court painting, Murshidabad school. For further information on Murshidabad school, please see Attributions Note for D.1201-1903.
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Skelton, Robert, 'Murshidabad Painting', Marg, Vol.X, No.1, December 1956, pp.10-22
  • Arts of Bengal : the heritage of Bangladesh and eastern India : an exhibition organized by the Whitechapel Art Gallery in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum : 9 November-30 December 1979, Whitechapel Art Gallery ..., 12 January-17 February 1980, Manchester City Art Gallery ... . [London]: Whitechapel Art Gallery, [1979] Number: 085488047X (pbk.) : p.45
Collection
Accession number
D.1184-1903

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdNovember 21, 2003
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest