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The Awakening of Trust (Vishrabdhanavodha Nayika)

1694-1695
Attributed to Devadasa of Nurpur (Indian)
The Rasamanjari is one of the many Indian poetic texts that classify the nuances of love and lovers. This painting, from one of three illustrated Rasamanjari series by the same family of painters, shows a newly married wife who has just begun to learn of love and trust. Her eyes are partly closed, yet she scrutinizes her husband; with one hand she covers her breasts, but with the other she indecisively fiddles at the knot that would loosen her lower garment. The tension is tangible; her longing mixed with apprehension, his ardor with gentle persistence. At some time during its long history, the right half of this page was eaten by mice. The page has been completed with a simplified rendition of what research shows must have been its original composition.

Object Details

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