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A Woman Plucks Leaves While Awaiting Her Lover: Gunakali Ragini of Malkos, from the “Chawand Ragamala”

Unknown

1605

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Baroque Mughal Painting Baroque Allegory

Dominant colour

A Woman Plucks Leaves While Awaiting Her Lover: Gunakali Ragini of Malkos, from the “Chawand Ragamala” is a 1605 unspecified by Unknown, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1605 · Baroque
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

A woman in a skirt of peacock feathers stands on a terrace, plucking leaves into a basket. She’s surrounded by garlands and flowers, with two peacocks watching from the roof. The scene feels quiet but full of longing. This painting comes from a *Ragamala*—a set of images meant to match musical moods. Each one tells a story from old Indian poetry, where love and waiting are common themes. The woman’s careful work with the leaves hints at a promise or a prayer for her lover’s return. To see more works like this, look up *Rajput kingdom of Mewar*.

The story of this work

Overview

On a terrace outside an open bedchamber, a dark-skinned woman wearing a skirt of peacock feathers plucks leaves from a tree and has filled her basket with flowers. She has made garlands and hung them on the trees, probably in accordance with a vow made in the ardent hope of bringing back her overdue lover. In accordance with the verse, two peacocks stand perched on the roof.