PAINTINGS OF MUGHAL COURTESANS

15 inch Height X 10.7 inch Width
$155
FREE Delivery
Express Shipping
11.8" X 20.5"
$180
FREE Delivery
Express Shipping
10.0 inch x 13.8 inch
$108
FREE Delivery
Express Shipping
$135  (20% off)
7.5 inches X 11.5 inches
$258.75
FREE Delivery
Express Shipping
$345  (25% off)
Celebrating Dance and Music
Backorder
13" x 10.0"
$360
FREE Delivery
A Mujra to Entertain the King
Backorder
14.0" x 10"
$360
FREE Delivery
The Young Princess Absorbed in Portraying Her Lord
Backorder
6 inch X 9 inch
$230
FREE Delivery
The Young Damsel Dressing Her Hair
Backorder
6 inch x 9 inch
$175
FREE Delivery
The Young Damsel Dressing Her Hair
Backorder
6 inch X 9 inch
$260
FREE Delivery
Lady with Flower
Backorder
9.3 inch X 11.5 inch
$195
FREE Delivery
Lighting the Lamp
Backorder
11.0" X 13.7"
$520
FREE Delivery
Lady with Messenger Pigeon
Backorder
19.5" X 29.5"
$215
FREE Delivery
Nayika Confiding in Her Pigeon Messenger
Backorder
11.5" X 20.5"
$200
FREE Delivery
The Open Door
Backorder
9.0" X 6.5"
$295
FREE Delivery
Ornaments
Backorder
5.0" x 7.0"
$100
FREE Delivery
Nautch Girl
Backorder
10.5" x 15.5"
$255
FREE Delivery
A Damsel Bedecked in Jewelry
Backorder
8.0" X 11.0"
$435
FREE Delivery
In the Harem
Backorder
13.5" x 10.5"
$360
FREE Delivery
Beauty In Movement
Backorder
13.0" x 10.0"
$360
FREE Delivery
Music of the Soul
Backorder
13.0" x 10.0"
$360
FREE Delivery
The Light Leads But Let a Protective Hand Guard It
Backorder
10.5" x 13.5"
$380
FREE Delivery
Celebrations!
Backorder
10.0" x 13.5"
$360
FREE Delivery
Seduction in Monochrome
Backorder
7.0" x 7.0"
$165
FREE Delivery
'Come Hither, My Love'
Backorder
9.5" x 12.7"
$360
FREE Delivery
Delight in Dancing
Backorder
5.0" x 7.0"
$100
FREE Delivery
Lady of the House
Backorder
2 ft x 3 ft
$460
FREE Delivery
Lady with Hookah
Backorder
2 ft x 3 ft
$260
FREE Delivery
Filter
Filter by Material
Filter by Size

Beauty, Art, And A Way Of Life

The courtesans patronised during the Mughal rule in India were a class apart. Unlike the modern-day streetwalker that mimics the mere airs of her medieval counterpart, the tawaif (Urdu for courtesan) used to be a work of art in motion. She used to sing and dance (mujra) and spin literature (Urdu), and cultivate tasteful hobbies such as gardening and theatre. The likes of her were beacons of beauty such that the nobility of the day flocked to their quarters. This section of Indian paintings features exquisite portrayals of olden-day courtesans. Captured in the midst of their artistic and/or seduction routines, the courtesans in these paintings provide interesting glimpses into that volatile life of beauty and pleasure. Any of these beauteous damsels would add to your space an elusive charm.

The Indian courtesans were frequented by the nobles of the Mughal courts. Patronised by usually a single powerful and wealthy gentleman, each of them was an artiste in her own right and contributed immensely to traditional Indian performing arts as well as the Hindustani literary tradition. What makes the paintings curated here so authentic is the fact that a number of the pieces in this collection are reproductions of ancient Indian miniatures, the exquisiteness of which are not to be found in any other visual arts tradition in the world. The colours employed are rich and vivid. The silks and velvets of their quarters, which constitute the backdrop against which most of these ivory-skinned courtesans are painted, are depicted in lifelike and luxuriant detail. These are visual representations of a time and way of life that no longer exist in the fast-paced and relatively cheap ways of the present time. From the dense blackness of their tresses to the classical features of their forms, from the richly coloured silks and jewels they were always seen in to their inimitable stance, each of these Mughal paintings is a fine example of aesthetics and skill.