This single leaf shows a gathering of pleasure-seeking men outside a pavilion, where a number of women sit. The painting, which dates to the middle of the 18th century, was executed in northern India, possibly Lucknow. Some of the awaiting women drink wine while others attend to the hookahs. In the right corner, a man in yellow dress sits with betel quids, watching two men embroiled in a dispute, one with a dagger drawn. A second pair, at the far end and close to the pavilion, seems also to be enraged enough to draw blood. The rest wait in anticipation, smoking and conversing.
Ink and pigments on paper
