Such paintings as this were not made for titillation, but for education in the art of sex. They illustrate postures described in various sexual manuals, such as Vatsyayana’s well-known “Kamasutra.” In this Pahari painting a draped bed is placed beside a pool with three little ducks, and, apart from a bonsai-like tree on the left, the lovers are presented against the drooping branches of two willows. He has a dark complexion, while she is fair.
Pigments on paper
