AN ILLUSTRATION TO AN ASHTA NAYIKA SERIES: THE ABHISARIKA NAYIKA
Kangra, Punjab Hills, Northern India, 19th century

Opaque pigments on paper, the vertical illustration following the typical compositional arrangement of the Abhisarika Nayika (the Heroine Braving the Night), depicting the female heroine walking through a dark forest, the dark clouds hovering over her head announcing a rainy storm, her bright orange dress contrasting with the subdued colours of the forest at night, the heroine reaching out for a tree-branch and nervously looking in the direction she came from, almost indicating regret in her action, whilst her body stands still, fearless and resolute to continue walking towards her lover, the scene set within a typical Kangra-style frame of white floral trellis on a dark blue ground, and red-speckled pink borders, the recto with numbers annotated in pencil, 22cm x 16cm.