Sale 219 Lot 158

MINISTER IN CONVERSATION WITH A PRINCE Hyderabad, Deccan, India, circa 1800 Opaque pigments and gold on paper. Set upon a white marble palace terrace, a minister and a prince sit facing each other in animated conversation, gesturing with open hands. The minister sits comfortably on a low chair while an attendant behind him fans him with a peacock-feather flywhisk ("morchal"). Behind them stands a grand, columned pavilion with pink carpets and hanging drapes, while a marble water basin with a central fountain and small flowerbeds decorates the foreground. Gold "nasta'liq" inscriptions identify the figures along the upper edge, and the scene is framed within an elaborate gold-and-black guilloche border. Drawing: 10.25 x 6.5 inches; frame: 21 x 13 inches
$600-800