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Women enjoying the river at the forest’s edge

Hunhar II (Indian, active mid-1700s)c. 1765

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

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.

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  • Title: Women enjoying the river at the forest’s edge
  • Creator: Hunhar II (Indian, active mid-1700s)
  • Date Created: c. 1765
  • Physical Dimensions: Page: 33.1 x 24.9 cm (13 1/16 x 9 13/16 in.)
  • Provenance: Henry Chaplin, MP, 1st Visc. Chaplin [1849–1923], London and Lincolnshire, given to Admiral Hon. Henry John Rous, Admiral Hon. Henry John Rous [1795–1877], London and Cambridgeshire, (Sotheby’s, London, Western and Oriental Manuscripts, 10 July 1968, lot 102, sold to Ralph Benkaim), Ralph Benkaim [1914-2001] and Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.351
  • Medium: opaque watercolor with gold on paper, narrow border of gold foliate meander (recto and verso)
  • Fun Fact: Mangoes are in varying stages of ripeness, from green to bright orange-yellow.
  • Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
  • Culture: India, Murshidabad or Lucknow, Mughal, 18th century
  • Credit Line: Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection
  • Collection: Indian Art - Mughal
  • Accession Number: 2013.351
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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