id: 170883 accession number: 2013.349 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.349 updated: 2023-05-25 11:12:06.232000 Court lady singing and playing the vina, c. 1760. Attributed to Muhammad Rizavi Hindi (Indian, active mid-1700s). Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; page: 31.1 x 26.2 cm (12 1/4 x 10 5/16 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 2013.349 title: Court lady singing and playing the vina title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1760 creation date earliest: 1755 creation date latest: 1765 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: --- culture: India, Mughal, 18th century technique: Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art collection: Indian Art - Mughal type: Painting find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Muhammad Rizavi Hindi (Indian, active mid-1700s) - artist --- measurements: Page: 31.1 x 26.2 cm (12 1/4 x 10 5/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: Verso: Persian verses in nasta‘liq script. Once again ‘Iraqi broke his vows:/ From the cup of love he became intoxicated and ecstatic. translation: remark: inscription: Verso: Persian verses in nasta‘liq script. Until you are bold enough to take to the seas,/ You will not reap spiritual benefits from your inner heart./ Until you have pitched your tent next to the spiritual guide/ You will not enjoy him to the fullest. translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Art and Stories from Mughal India opening date: 2016-07-31T04:00:00 Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Beauty in Asia. Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore (May 3-September 23, 2007). --- PROVENANCE Sir Charles Forbes, 7th Baronet [1773-1849], Bengal, London, and Scotland, by descent to his great-grandson, Colonel Sir John Forbes date: ?-1849 footnotes: citations: Colonel Sir John Stewart Forbes [1901-1984], Baronet, DSO, DL, Allargue House, Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK, consigned to Sotheby's London for sale date: ?-1962 footnotes: citations: (Sotheby's, London, Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, lot 23) date: December 10, 1962 footnotes: citations: Ralph Benkaim [1914-2001], Beverly Hills, CA, by descent to his wife Catherine Benkaim date: 1962-2001 footnotes: citations: (Catherine Glynn Benkaim [b. 1946], Beverly Hills, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) date: 2001-2013 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 2013- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: When the mouth is open, and teeth and tongue are showing, she is singing. digital description: wall description: Her mouth open slightly in song, the woman’s hennaed fingers strum a three-string vina, an Indian musical instrument with a resonator made from a gourd. Music was an essential component of courtly entertainment, along with the drinking of wine and the appreciation of poetry, paintings, and jewels.

On the verso, the first two lines in Persian read:
Once again, Iraqi broke his vows:
From the cup of love he became intoxicated and ecstatic.

The excerpt from the mystic poet Jami is more of a pious injunction:
Until you are bold enough to take to the seas,
You will not reap spiritual benefits from your inner heart.
Unless you pitch your tent next to the spiritual guide,
You will not enjoy him to the fullest. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Sotheby's, London. Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures. December 10, 1962. page number: Mentioned: Lot 23 url: Krishnan, Gauri Parimoo. Beauty in Asia: 200 BCE to Today. Singapore: Asian Civilisations Museum, 2007. page number: Reproduced: no. 31b url: Mace, Sonya Rhie, Mohsen Ashtiany, Catherine Glynn, Pedro Moura Carvalho, Marcus Fraser, and Ruby Lal. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: the Cleveland Museum of Art. London: D Giles Limited, 2016. page number: Reproduced:cat. no. 86, pp. 256-257 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.349/2013.349_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.349/2013.349_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2013.349/2013.349_full.tif