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This complex watercolour depicts a moment in the private life of Mughal court-maidens. Three friends, handpicked from across the country for their beauty and bearing, have gathered in their chamber to talk about their day and amuse themselves with their fourth friend, the peacock. It is well-past dusk, as could be gleaned from the beauteous night outside the window, painted with the most skilled and imaginative brushstrokes.
In the privacy of each other’s company, the ladies have let their hair and dupattas down. The peacock is eating out of the hands of one of them, while the other two look on. The painting boasts of a remarkable level of attention to detail - the gold booties on their richly coloured lehengas, the lush rugs and cushions they are sitting on, and the lifelike candle burning steadily in the foreground.
Upon gazing at each of the ladies in turn, one finds that each of the splendidly dressed ladies is fairer than the other. They are youthful and lithe, their irresistible figures enhanced by the skimpy cholies and low-cut lehengas they are wearing. Together, they are no less than the sultry glimpse of the skies in the background, the jewels on their flaxen bodies competing with the resplendence of the moon.
