An ink and opaque watercolor painting of a standing woman wearing a long red skirt, a cropped yellow shirt, and an orange veil behind her head. She holds her two hands up by her face. The background is turquoise and she is framed by red and green frames that have gold floral patterns on them. There is written script above and below the woman.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

An ink and opaque watercolor painting of a standing woman wearing a long red skirt, a cropped yellow shirt, and an orange veil behind her head. She faces to the viewer’s right and she holds her two hands up by her face. Her right pinky is by her eye and her left hand holds a small, grey object. The background is turquoise and she is framed by a thin, red frame and a larger green frame that both have gold floral patterns on them. There is written script above and below the woman.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2009.202.251
Title
Woman Applying Kohl, painting from the Salim Album
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting
Date
c. 1590
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India
Period
Mughal period
Culture
Mughal
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/217184

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper; Mughal Style
Dimensions
image with border: 17.2 x 9.6 cm (6 3/4 x 3 3/4 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Stuart Cary Welch (by 1983 - 2008), by descent; to his estate (2008-2009,) gift; to Harvard Art Museum.

Notes:
Object was part of long-term loan to Museum in 1983.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Gift of Edith I. Welch in memory of Stuart Cary Welch
Accession Year
2009
Object Number
2009.202.251
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Against a seafoam green background stands a female figure. She wears a chaniya choli, which consists of a yellow crop top and a long, red skirt, and shoes decorated with pearls. Covering her head, draped around her shoulders, and cascading down her back is a translucent red shawl. Two large black tassels hang from her waist. She is adorned with necklaces, bracelets, an armlet, earrings, and a head ornament. With her left hand she holds up a mirror to her face, while her right hand applies kohl to her eyes. Her long, black hair falls behind her back, nearly to her feet, with an ornament at the end. The painting is set within a pasted border of gold flowers on red-dyed paper. Above and below the border are two blocks, each consisting of Persian calligraphy written in nasta‘liq script. The pasted outer border is made of brown-dyed paper decorated with gold flowers. Mughal Style.

Publication History

  • Stuart Cary Welch, "Mughal and Deccani Miniature Paintings From a Private Collection", Ars Orientalis; The Arts of Islam and the East, Freer Gallery of Art / Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C., 1963), Vol. 5, 221 - 233, p. 225, no. 6; pl. 3, fig. 4
  • Michael Brand and Glenn D. Lowry, Akbar's India: Art from the Mughal City of Victory, exh. cat., Asia Society Galleries (New York, 1985), p. 81 - 82, fig. 50; p. 149, no. 50
  • Samina Quraeshi, Lahore: The City Within, Concept Media Pte Ltd (Singapore, 1988), p. 84
  • Elaine Wright, Muraqqa': Imperial Mughal Albums from the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, exh. cat., Art Services International (Alexandria, VA, 2008), p. 458, no. 28

Exhibition History

  • Anvari's Divan: A Pocket Book for Akbar, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 02/07/1984 - 03/28/1984
  • Akbar's India: Art from the Mughal City of Victory, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/24/1986 - 03/16/1986
  • Where Traditions Meet: Painting in India from the 15th-17th Centuries, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/05/2003 - 12/07/2003
  • 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 04/26/2016 - 11/02/2016

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu