Ladies playing music on a terrace, Oudh, Lucknow, North India, circa 1720, opaque pigments height...

Ladies playing music on a terrace, Oudh, Lucknow, North India, circa 1720, opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, depicting a princess seated on a European style chair, with attendants behind, two musicians before them, a lake and single tree to the back ground, mounted and framed, painting 20 x 13.5cm. Provenance: Property from a Private Swiss Collection, ZurichFootnotes: In the late 18th century, Lucknow in Oudh became an urban center whose inhabitants devoted themselves to the enjoyment of the visual and performing arts. Painters refined the Mughal style and created seductively decorative scenes of luxurious pleasures. Among the best Lucknow paintings are refined, extremely detailed scenes such as this. See P. Pal et al., Dancing to the Flute: Music and Dance in Indian Art, 1997.