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Single Leaf of Nayika and Attendants in Leafy Bowers
(India, Nepal, and Tibet, Manuscripts and Rare Books, Islamic Manuscripts, Islamic World )
This painting, Walters manuscript leaf W.876, dating to the 12th century AH/AD 18th, depicts 3 women seated within 2 leafy bowers. The Nayika (female lover or heroine) sits alone, while her 2 female companions, known as sakhis, converse in the other bower. The painting may represent Utka nayika, a classification for heroines who are awaiting or yearning for their lovers. Often, they are shown on a bed of flowers or leaves that they have prepared in expectation of meeting their lovers. In the landscape are animals engaged in various activities. An outcrop of rocks in the distance forms a horizon, above which is a blue sky streaked with light gray or white washes to suggest a thin layer of high clouds.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 2001, by gift.
Exhibitions
| 2012 | Paradise Imagined: Images of the Garden in the Islamic and Christian World. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 6/18/2018 | Treatment | examined for exhibition; media consolidation |
Geographies
India, Delhi (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 11 13/16 x W: 8 11/16 in. (30 x 22 cm); Image H: 7 1/4 x W: 3 3/4 in. (18.4 x 9.5 cm); Framed H: 20 1/8 × W: 15 3/16 × D: 1 1/4 in. (51.12 × 38.58 × 3.18 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2001
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
W.876