Women enjoying the river at the forest’s edge (recto) and flowering marigold (verso)
1765
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1765
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Women enjoying the river at the forest’s edge (recto) and flowering marigold (verso) is a 1765 unspecified by Hunhar II, a Mughal Painting work, depicting Mughal, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see two sides of one small painting: on one, women laugh by a river under mango trees; on the other, bright orange marigolds. The scene feels like a wish for good times—rain clouds gather, women smell perfumes, and jasmine flowers wait for their hair. The white marble palace in the background glows softly, almost like a dream. To see more paintings like this, look up Mughal.
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.
Mangoes are in varying stages of ripeness, from green to bright orange-yellow.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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