A PAINTING OF A PRINCESS ELOPINGINDIA, PUNJAB HILLS, BILASPUR, 18TH CENTURY91⁄2 x 71⁄2 in. (24.1 x 19.1 cm.) (folio)8 x 6 in. (20.3 x 15.2 cm.) (image)Details91⁄2 x 71⁄2 in. (24.1 x 19.1 cm.) (folio)8 x 6 in. (20.3 x 15.2 cm.) (image)A princess and her lover meet in the dead of night, with only her maid, their elephant and a few parakeets to lay witness. Her maid lowers her into her lover’s hands as the two prepare to elope. The young princess grasps her lover with a tinge of apprehension in her face.A painting with a similar subject and composition from Nurpur during the reign of Raja Bir Singh (r.1805-1815) from the Mian Kartar Singh Collection is published by M.S. Randhawa in Kangra Paintings on Love, Delhi,1962, cat. 24. Randhwara interprets the scene as the elopement of a princess to a mahout; however, in the present example, the gentleman mounted upon the elephants neck is considerably more regal. Klaus Ebeling attributes the composition to a ragamala theme, Khembhayati Ragini. ---