PAINTINGS OF MUGHAL COURTESANS

15 inch Height X 10.7 inch Width
$124
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11.8" X 20.5"
$144
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$180 20% off
10.0 inch x 13.8 inch
$81
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$135 25% + 20% off
7.5 inches X 11.5 inches
$207
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A Mujra to Entertain the King
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14.0" x 10"
$288
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$360 20% off
Celebrating Dance and Music
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13" x 10.0"
$288
$360 20% off
The Young Princess Absorbed in Portraying Her Lord
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6 inch X 9 inch
$184
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The Young Damsel Dressing Her Hair
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6 inch x 9 inch
$140
$175 20% off
The Young Damsel Dressing Her Hair
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6 inch X 9 inch
$208
$260 20% off
Lady with Flower
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9.3 inch X 11.5 inch
$156
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Lighting the Lamp
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11.0" X 13.7"
$416
$520 20% off
Lady with Messenger Pigeon
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19.5" X 29.5"
$172
$215 20% off
Nayika Confiding in Her Pigeon Messenger
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11.5" X 20.5"
$160
$200 20% off
The Open Door
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9.0" X 6.5"
$236
$295 20% off
Ornaments
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5.0" x 7.0"
$80
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Nautch Girl
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10.5" x 15.5"
$204
$255 20% off
A Damsel Bedecked in Jewelry
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8.0" X 11.0"
$348
$435 20% off
In the Harem
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13.5" x 10.5"
$288
$360 20% off
Beauty In Movement
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13.0" x 10.0"
$288
$360 20% off
Music of the Soul
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13.0" x 10.0"
$288
$360 20% off
The Light Leads But Let a Protective Hand Guard It
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10.5" x 13.5"
$304
$380 20% off
Celebrations!
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10.0" x 13.5"
$288
$360 20% off
Seduction in Monochrome
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7.0" x 7.0"
$132
$165 20% off
'Come Hither, My Love'
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9.5" x 12.7"
$288
$360 20% off
Delight in Dancing
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5.0" x 7.0"
$80
$100 20% off
Lady of the House
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2 ft x 3 ft
$368
$460 20% off
Lady with Hookah
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2 ft x 3 ft
$208
$260 20% off
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Beauty, Art, And A Way Of Life

The courtesans patronised during the Mughal rule in India were a class apart. Unlike the modern-day streetwalker that mimics the mere airs of her medieval counterpart, the tawaif (Urdu for courtesan) used to be a work of art in motion. She used to sing and dance (mujra) and spin literature (Urdu), and cultivate tasteful hobbies such as gardening and theatre. The likes of her were beacons of beauty such that the nobility of the day flocked to their quarters.


This section of Indian paintings features exquisite portrayals of olden-day courtesans. Captured in the midst of their artistic and/or seduction routines, the courtesans in these paintings provide interesting glimpses into that volatile life of beauty and pleasure. Any of these beauteous damsels would add to your space an elusive charm. The Indian courtesans were frequented by the nobles of the Mughal courts.


Patronised by usually a single powerful and wealthy gentleman, each of them was an artiste in her own right and contributed immensely to traditional Indian performing arts as well as the Hindustani literary tradition. What makes the paintings curated here so authentic is the fact that a number of the pieces in this collection are reproductions of ancient Indian miniatures, the exquisiteness of which are not to be found in any other visual arts tradition in the world. The colours employed are rich and vivid.


The silks and velvets of their quarters, which constitute the backdrop against which most of these ivory-skinned courtesans are painted, are depicted in lifelike and luxuriant detail. These are visual representations of a time and way of life that no longer exist in the fast-paced and relatively cheap ways of the present time. From the dense blackness of their tresses to the classical features of their forms, from the richly coloured silks and jewels they were always seen in to their inimitable stance, each of these Mughal paintings is a fine example of aesthetics and skill.