A RULER BEING OFFERED PAAN BY A COURTLY LADY
Provincial Mughal School or Deccan, India, late 18th - early 19th century

Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the vertical composition depicting a young nobleman dressed in a pink vest decorated with green leaves, his face painted in minute details and showing pockmarks, raising his hand to request more betel leaves handed to him by an elegantly dressed lady of the court, wearing a diaphanous top, a high horizon with streaks of red to the background, set within red rules and bright red borders, 20cm x 25.2cm.

A painting with a similar composition and draughtsmanship successfully sold at Christie's London, 12 June 2018, lot 32.