INDIAN MINIATURE PAINTINGS: A Folio of 10 Notecards

A woman dishes out food from a large golden pot. This Indian lady may be a servant or she may instead have lovingly prepared the food for her own family. Carefully placed around her in the foreground are various vessels and utensils including two sets of tongs, three stemmed cups, two jugs, a ewer and several small banana-leaf bowls. The brilliant palette of mainly yellow, orange and red is suggestive of the hot, fiery food she has cooked. The second image in the collection depicts an obviously wealthier woman who has her meals cooked for her and therefore has time to relax outdoors in a delightful, flower-filled setting. Balanced precariously against the slender trunk of a tree, she reads from a long, narrow book of poetry, and we can only guess that they are verses of mystical love. The palette here is dark and sombre, despite the rich gold of her clothing, her left arm is raised and there is a beautiful translucency in the overskirt. Blank for all occasions, these quality notecards come with ten envelopes and five each of the two designs in a wallet for safe keeping.