An illustration to a Rasikapriya series: Krishna receives a message from Radha, attributable to Nuruddin and his circle, India, Rajasthan, Bikaner, circa 1690-1700

Krishna sits leaning against a large bolster within a marble pavilion as he receives a message from a sakhi (confidante) of his beloved Radha. The lady gestures animatedly while Krishna gazes upward – listening intently, his palm and the curled fingers of his hand beneath his chin. The detailed architectural elements of the pavilion interior are executed in the European en grisaille technique, clearly showing the hand of a skilled and highly trained artist. The background and foreground merge on an atmospherically connected verdigris backdrop of undulating hills punctuated by a finely rendered fortified town on one hilltop and groves of trees in the further distance.

For a background discussion of the history and artistic traditions of Bikaner and its artists see Naval Krishna, 'Bikaneri Miniature Painting Workshops of Ruknuddin, Ibrahim and Nathu', Lalit Kala, no.21, New Delhi, 1985, pp.23-27. An illustration ascribed to Nuruddin and dated 1685 is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession no.1981.371.1).