id:			170858
accession number:	2013.337
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.337
updated:		2020-08-28 09:01:13.214000

A Princess and Demons before a Nobleman: A Leaf from a Poetical Romance Relating to Shah Alam I (recto); Stenciled Scenes of Lion and Gazelle (verso), c. 1710. India, Mughal, early 18th century. Opaque watercolor with gold on paper (recto); ink and gold on pink-speckled paper (verso); page: 43 x 28.9 cm (16 15/16 x 11 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, 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 2013.337

title:				A Princess and Demons before a Nobleman: A Leaf from a Poetical Romance Relating to Shah Alam I (recto); Stenciled Scenes of Lion and Gazelle (verso)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1710
creation date earliest:		1705
creation date latest:		1715
current location:		
creditline:			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
copyright:			

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culture:	India, Mughal, early 18th century
technique:	opaque watercolor with gold on paper (recto); ink and gold on pink-speckled paper (verso)
department:	Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection:	Indian Art - Mughal
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Page: 43 x 28.9 cm (16 15/16 x 11 3/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* The Cleveland Museum of Art (7/31/2016-10/23/2016); Art and Stories from Mughal India, cat. 73.

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PROVENANCE

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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall description: 
The source story of this painting remains enigmatic to scholars, but it includes a range of depictions of the “other”––from the foreign to the demonic. A prince kneeling in front of his horse addresses a lady; the moon in front of her face may identify her as Mahliqa (“moonlike” in Arabic), the Chinese princess identified by inscription on the adjacent page. A group of men whose eyes hang vertically stand behind her. Horned figures with grass skirts lie slain behind them, presumably killed by the kneeling prince conspicuously holding a bow. The city in the background, at the top of the painting, is populated solely by women, and its eight surrounding walls are interspersed with slain composite creatures wearing leaf skirts, which may identify them as bands of forest-dwellers, or tribal groups.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.337/2013.337_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.337/2013.337_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.337/2013.337_full.tif