A princess and her lover meet in the dead of night, with only her maid, their elephant and a few parakeets to lay witness. Her maid lowers her into her lover’s hands as the two prepare to elope. The young princess grasps her lover with a tinge of apprehension in her face. A painting with a similar subject and composition from Nurpur during the reign of Raja Bir Singh (r.1805-1815) from the Mian Kartar Singh Collection is published by M.S. Randhawa in Kangra Paintings on Love, Delhi,1962, cat. 24. Randhwara interprets the scene as the elopement of a princess to a mahout; however, in the present example, the gentleman mounted upon the elephants neck is considerably more regal. Klaus Ebeling attributes the composition to a ragamala theme, Khembhayati Ragini.
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Areas of pigment loss to princess and tusks and neck of elephant. Minor area of water staining in sky and mauve wall. Brown discoloration at lower red border.
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