A Heroine Plucking a Flower: Page from a Dispersed Nayikabheda

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The artist instilled this painting with an iconography of longing: the empty bed, the solitary nayika (heroine), and the forlorn call of the peacock. The patterned raindrops, stylized creepers, and surface treatment of the architecture distinguish this manuscript from other work done in the Malwa courts. The figural type suggests an awareness of the Mewar or Bundi traditions; the use of a black sky and a red color field behind are typical of the archaic tastes of Malwa production, which survived into the late seventeenth century.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art