THE INTERIOR OF THE DIWAN-I KHAS IN DELHI'S LAL QILA (RED FORT)
Possibly Delhi School, Northern India, mid-19th century

Opaque pigments and ink heightened with gold on wove paper, the horizontal-format composition indebted to Company School paintings and attempting to faithfully represent the interior of the Hall of Private Audiences (Diwan-i Khas) in the Lal Qila (Red Fort) of Delhi, depicting the typical white marble arcades with polylobed arches resting on fluted columns, in the centre of the hall a high chair or throne and behind it a tall door underneath a horseshoe-shaped arch, the foreground livened by a striped floor spread with polychrome floral decoration, set within white, black, and gold rules, and illuminated blue and bright red borders, the lower right corner with an inscription in black ink nasta'liq script reading Takht-i Diwan-i Khas (the Throne of the Hall of Private Audiences) and the date 1264 AH (?), corresponding to 1848 AD, the opposite corner with another inscription now faded, 21.5cm x 32.5cm.

Dimensions: 21.5cm x 32.5cm