# Court lady singing and playing the vina (recto)

- By: Muhammad Rizavi Hindi (Indian, active mid-1700s)
- Date: c. 1760
- Medium: Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Miniature: 21.6 x 16.8 cm (8 1/2 x 6 5/8 in.)
- Culture: India, Lucknow, Mughal, 18th century
- Credit line: Gift in honor of Madeline Neves Clapp; Gift of Mrs. Henry White Cannon by exchange; Bequest of Louise T. Cooper; Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund; From the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.349.a)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/2013.349.a/2013.349.a_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Her mouth open slightly in song, the woman’s hennaed fingers strum a three-string vina, an Indian musical instrument with a resonator made from a gourd. Music was an essential component of courtly entertainment, along with the drinking of wine and the appreciation of poetry, paintings, and jewels.