A female figure standing in a landscape holding a four-stringed “khuuchir” and a lotus
1590
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1590
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
A female figure standing in a landscape holding a four-stringed “khuuchir” and a lotus is a 1590 unspecified by Unknown, a Mughal Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman stands in a dry field, holding a four-stringed khuuchir and a lotus flower. Tiny plants sprout at her feet like she’s making the land bloom just by being there. This painting comes from Akbar’s court in Mughal India. The lotus and instrument mix Hindu and Mongol symbols—showing how rulers borrowed ideas to link power, luck, and music. The feathered crown and robe suggest a blend of cultures, not just one tradition. To see more art like this, look up court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605).
Standing over flowering sprigs, holding a lotus like a scepter, the figure seems to magically impart fertility to a desert. In pan-Indian religious iconography (system of visual symbols that identify a figure), the lotus is held by the goddess of good fortune, prosperity, and abundance, who is frequently associated with ideal kingship. The stringed instrument recalls the Indian goddess of learning and music, but here it is of a Mongolian type, as is the feather in her crown. Her garments are reminiscent of those worn by biblical and classical figures in European engravings. This painting…
The four strings of the woman’s khuuchir would have been made from silk.
Read the full account in the museum source.
