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Women enjoying the river at the forest’s edge (recto) and flowering marigold (verso)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The image of young women at play, in association with water and the fruiting of trees, such as this mango, has been used in Indian art to signal the idea of prosperity and abundance. Rain clouds approach that will nourish the land. The pairs of women on the banks sample perfumes, and in front of them bowls made of leaves appear to hold jasmine flowers for adorning the hair. One woman smokes a hookah and looks on as two companions frolic in the rivulet. The palace’s white marble buildings are barely indicated in the far distance.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineWomen enjoying the river at the forest’s edge (recto) and flowering marigold (verso), c. 1765. Style of Hunhar II (Indian, active mid-1700s). Gum tempera and gold on paper; page: 33.1 x 24.9 cm (13 1/16 x 9 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection, 2013.351