Heroine with Peacock
Unknown Artist
This alluring and voluptuous woman represents a nayika, or a woman in love, a common theme in medieval Indian literature and seventeenth and eighteenth century manuscript painting. The peacock she holds on her lap is a trope from Indian painting, a metaphor for the longing she feels for her absent lover. Her fancy white dotted sari, with a red and blue border, slips down to reveal her full breasts, a pose doubtlessly intended to titillate the viewer.
Credit: Gift of Rhodes Robertson
19th century
Watercolor on paper
17.7 x 11.0in
64.65.19
Image and text courtesy of Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2021