Court Lady Pouring Wine (recto); Calligraphy of Lyrical Quatrains (verso)
1704
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1704
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Court Lady Pouring Wine (recto); Calligraphy of Lyrical Quatrains (verso) is a 1704 unspecified by Unknown, a Mughal Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a woman in a pale dress pouring deep red wine from a duck-shaped decanter into a small cup. The duck’s beak spouts the wine like a spout. This decanter shape comes from old Persian court rituals, where bird vessels held liquids for ceremonies. The artist painted tiny gold vines on the glass, making it look fancy. On the back, neat handwriting fills the page, surrounded by little flowers and poems about beauty. Look up more paintings from Mughal India, probably Lucknow, Indian art to see how artists mixed daily life with old traditions.
The artist has depicted a glass or crystal duck-headed decanter adorned with a gilded grapevine motif, signaling the contents. The red wine flows from the duck’s mouth into a tiny cup. Such bird-shaped wine vessels are vestiges of the blood sacrifices once part of ancient Persian court rituals. On the verso, floral sprigs illuminate the central calligraphic work, and paired verses have been written in smaller script all around the border. On this page, all the verses are about the beauty of—and longing for—the beloved.
The bird-headed decanter evokes blood rites of kingship in pre-Islamic Iran.
Read the full account in the museum source.
