Folio from an Amaru Shataka Manuscript: Heroine Confiding in Her Attendant

About 1650-1660

India, Madhya Pradesh, Malwa region

Opaque watercolor and ink on paper

H. 8 1/4 x W. 5 3/4 in. (21 x 14.6 cm)

Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.58

The Amaru Shataka (One Hundred Verses by Amaru), written in Sanskrit by the poet Amaru around the 7th century, describes the various permutations of love. In this 17th-century illustration of the poem, the seated woman has asked her confidante to explain her anguish to her lover. The painting refers to the specific verse from the poem written above. The figures and architecture placed within a flat picture plane and the bright and bold colors are typical of Rajput narrative paintings.