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Vase with flower arrangement and scrollwork
c. 1750–1800
- Medium
- Gum tempera and gold on paper
- Classification
- Painting
- Culture
- Mughal India, Lucknow
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- 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
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
The symmetry of the floral arrangement emerging from the blue-and-white porcelain vase reveals an idealized vision. The overflowing vase is among the most ancient motifs in Indian art, used to convey the concept of abundance. This image, made for an elite patron of northern India, implies the prosperity that has accrued from international connections. The vase, painted with a European-style landscape, is of the type that was made in China for export to Europe. The scrolling ornament on either side may be ultimately derived from Persian motifs, but reworked into a European style, painted by Indian artists.
