A Disconsolate Lady on a Terrace with Attendants

c. 1730

A Disconsolate Lady on a Terrace with Attendants, c. 1730. Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput Kingdom of Raghogarh. Gum tempera, silver, and gold on paper; page: 28.3 x 22.9 cm (11 1/8 x 9 in.); miniature: 23.5 x 15.2 cm (9 1/4 x 6 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.185 This princess is waiting for her lover to arrive. Thinking of him, she touches her breast and her lap, while one attendant keeps flies off with the royal whisk, and the other bites her finger in a gesture of astonishment. The artist has whimsically manipulated elements of the landscape, such as the blazing sun peeking out from behind the flat black hill at the lower left corner, and invading the yellow strip at the top with blocks of blue sky to accommodate the finials of the palace rooftops. Her loose hair and seating posture with one leg outstretched indicate that she is losing hope.