Leaf from the Late Shah Jahan Album: Harem Night-Bathing Scene (recto); Calligraphy Framed by an Ornamental Border of Flowers and Birds (verso)
Unknown Artist
c. 1650
Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
37.8 × 27.6 cm · painting only: 19.4 × 14.1 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alton W. Whitehouse
Accession Number
1987.153
About this artwork
The subject of women bathing persisted throughout the 1500s and into the 1600s. Akbar’s grandson Shah Jahan—the Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal—continued to support the work of artists in the imperial atelier. His taste was more formal and subdued, without as much interest in illuminations of fantastic tales. This scene is a single painting mounted in an album. The white marble terraces glow under the moonlight. An attendant carrying a cloth over one arm looks on with awe at the beauty of...