Three girls bathing; an illustration to the musical mode Sindhuri

Mankot is bounded by the lower hills and therefore had less contact with the Mughals than Guler. The painters make bold statements, often emphasised by empty backgrounds.

This is a Ragamala illustrating the musical mode Sindhuri, which is probably an evening raga. The general atmosphere seems to be early evening and the quiet colours also indicate this. The girls are shown naked (very unusual in Indian art) but still wearing their jewellery and with henna-decorated hands. The water is painted in white and oxidised silver to give the swirling effect.

Description taken from the ‘Art From The Indian Sub-Continent In The Sainsbury Centre’ catalogue by Margaret A. Willey (Sainsbury Centre, UEA, 1995).