A wife seeks justice or mercy

Gouache on paper.

This unique narrative scene depicts some local family scandal, perhaps concerning infidelity or theft, possibly in the small Hill state of Dada-Siba. In a house to the right, a husband chastises his wife, while another woman remonstrates or calls for punishment. To the left, husband and wife stand before a plinth, possibly an oath-stone or place of punishment, where the wife pleads for justice or mercy from the local ruler who will judge their case.

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