Lady Holding a Wine Cup

1740 - 1750

Mughal, Indian

Not On View

Lady Holding a Wine Cup: 1 of Collection Gallery

Lady Holding a Wine Cup: 2 of Collection Gallery

Lady Holding a Wine Cup: 3 of Collection Gallery

Lady Holding a Wine Cup: 4 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

The identity of this Mughal lady is not certain, but the luxurious items she wears and holds place her in the company of the courtly elite.
Adorned with abundant jewelry, she wears a gauzy pink veil and a sheer bodice made of finely woven muslin — an expensive material valued for its light weight and soft texture. With henna-dyed fingertips, she grasps a small blue-and-white cup in one hand and a goose-headed flask in the other. These vessels were most likely for wine: the cup’s size suggests it holds a beverage for sipping, and references in Persian literature associate bird-shaped flasks with wine.
The cup appears to represent Chinese porcelain, a luxury ceramic collected by elites across the early modern world. It is delicately painted with a female figure seated in a plant-filled landscape. Like the main subject of the painting, she wears a sheer garment. A tiny ewer near the figure’s knees and a long-necked goose on the foot of the cup make clever reference to the shape of the lady’s flask.

Title Lady Holding a Wine Cup

Artwork Date 1740 - 1750

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Indian

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Mughal

Medium Transparent and opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Dimensions Overall: 13 3/16 × 10 inches (33.5 × 25.4 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department Islamic Art

Credit Museum Purchase, Ralph H. Booth Bequest Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2023.83

Markings

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Provenance

Martine de Béhague, Comtesse de Béarn (1870–1939), Paris.
Private collection;
1973, (Maître Chalvet de Recy, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 26 October 1973, lot 12);
1973, purchased by M. Gilbert Olivier (1914–1992), Paris;
1992, inherited by Jeanne Olivier (née Chapouilly; 1914–2021), Paris;
Before 2020, gifted to children of M. Gilbert Olivier, France;
2020, purchased by (AER Gallery, London, UK);
2023-present, purchased by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

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We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Mughal, Indian, Lady Holding a Wine Cup, 1740 - 1750, transparent and opaque watercolor and gold on paper. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Ralph H. Booth Bequest Fund, 2023.83.