The firecracker

The young princess is seated on a golden chauki and is holding in one hand an ornate golden huqqa decorated with flowers, and in the other a firecracker.

The five attendants

Behind the princess stand her five attendants, holding a surahi, a morchal, candles, a fly whisk, a wine tray, and a pandan.

The pandan

Close to the princess is a pandan (container) for keeping betel leaves, a thali (tray) with some fruit or food items, and two gold surahi’s (long necked flasks) filled with wine or water.

The jewelry

Shown in profile, the princess wears a gold ghagra skirt and is accessorized with jewelry made of pearls.

The smoke

The smoke from the sparkles of the firecracker has been painting by the artist to disappear into the air.

The terrace

The white terrace building of the palace has intricate wall paintings, depicting trays of vases filled with flowers.

Forward slash

Fontana slashed holes into his canvases to make the viewer rethink the idea of 'space', in a simple but futuristic move he called "art for the Space Age".

Darkness and depth

Fontana lined the backs of these pictures with a black gauze, which gives the illusion of endless depth behind.

Serial slasher

This is one of many slashed canvases Fontana made from the 1950s onwards, some cut just once, and some multiple times.