A COURTLY LADY’S TOILETTE Malwa, Central India, late 19th century Opaque pigments heightened with gold on paper, the vertical composition depicting a courtly lady with her arms raised, resting on an oval cushion, four female attendants on her sides holding a sitar, a tray with cups and refreshing drinks, a peacock feathers fan and a mirror, the architecture of typical style with wooden columns, at the top on an ochre yellow ground a black ink Devanagari inscription with punctuation in red, framed within a red border, mounted on pink and white cardboard, 42.4cm x 32.4cm.