Handpainted – Pichwai – Gopis Beneath the Peacock Canopy

Provenance

'Gopis Beneath the Peacock Canopy' is a Pichwai painting on a black ground in which a procession of women in golden dress gathers beneath a scalloped canopy, with cows walking among them. The women of Braj and their herd are a familiar Pichwai subject, and here the composition is crowded and festive, filled from edge to edge with figures, birds and foliage.

The canopy has a latticed roof crowned by three golden peacocks and a finial, and stands on slender golden poles. Beneath it, some eleven women in ochre and gold skirts with pearl garlands carry fans, a whisk and a stringed instrument, while blue and white cows move between them. Above, two winged, crowned figures fly towards a golden moon, and golden trees with pink fruit rise at either side. Below, peacocks, peahens and white cranes stand on the dotted ground above a pond of pink lotuses and green leaves.

Black and gold set the tone, with pink, green and the soft blue of the cows lifting the palette. Tiny gold dots cover the black ground like a night sky, and the figures are outlined in fine gold, which gives the painting a warm, lamp-lit glow. A border of pink and green flowers on black frames the scene. It is a rich, narrative piece that rewards close looking and suits a large wall.