Lot 72: AN INDIAN MUGHAL DOUBLE-SIDED MINIATURE PAINTING, INDIN, 18TH -19TH CENTURY

The work is executed in opaque watercolour and gold on paper. The recto side depicts a zenana courtyard scene with five female figures; two are seated on a terrace rug while three attendants stand nearby, one playing a long-necked stringed instrument. The composition is set against a garden background with a red trellis and blue sky. The central image is bordered by a light blue frame with gold foliate scrollwork. The verso features a botanical study of three orange lilies and a bud, accompanied by a butterfly, set against a vibrant turquoise ground. Two vertical panels of Persian poetry in Nasta’liq script flank the floral study. Both sides share wide margins, known as hashiya, decorated with sepia-toned floral sprigs and gold highlights. A painted inscription in Persian script appears on the lower right margin of the recto, reading ‘از تصنیف’ (Az tasnif), though the subsequent artist’s name is not legible. Small painted characters at the bottom centre of the recto may read ‘رقم’ (raqam). The piece is displayed in a modern light-wood shadow-box frame.

Painting: 30 by 20cm