An Impressive Hat, and Confusion.

The piece, Folios A and B from the "Five Treasures" (Panj Ganj) of Jami, 1520-1607, resides at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which Grav plans to visit on his way back from Pennsic this year. The website offers little information, no description of what's happening and a very large span of time in which it could have been created.

What interests me in this Indian or Mughal illumination, is this woman.

She appears to either be topless or in a very thin muslin shirt, a skirt, and a boqta hat. There are no veils, but there is a plume and the edges appear to be pearled.

It is different in shape from the boqta seen in much of the Baburnama - which, as I 've mentioned before, was illustrated by illuminators during Akbar's reign - with their slightly shorter appearance and the attachment of veils. What's more remarkable to meis the combination of elements - she's dressed in Hindi attire rather than Mughal, with what appears to be nothing more than a petticoat and... actually, on closer inspection, this appears to be a transparent scarf. She's obviously bare above the midriff save for jewelry and this enormous hat.

Sadly, thanks to the lack of interpretation here, I have nothing more to go on. Google search has nothing, no strings to follow.

One thing I can draw from is the fine detail the illuminator used in depicting rugs and... wallpaper?... and

wait, WHAT ARE THOSE LADIES DOING TO HER?

Are they flogging her with cotton candy? What?

A smaller portion of the upper left of the scroll shows a couple where a woman is wearing a more traditional bogta, possibly a taqi, and more traditional garb.

And the cheery inter-scene illumination is a cheetah and deer...

Oh deer.

I suspect this image is actually post-period. Another illumination in the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection depicts women in skirts and pants with the ultra sheer muslin shirts and skirts over in this illumination from the early 17th century, certainly a nod to Shah Jahangir's clothing aesthetic. Look, nipples.

Got you to look.

These hats are most decidedly without veils. The costumes are most decidedly un-SCA-able in their current fashions. I do recall meeting a woman at SCA50 who was dressed Indian-fashion but with a skin-colored leotard under her necklaces and pants.

The coats I am wearing may be bulky and thick, but at least I don't feel naked.

What I am getting here are the uses of various jewelry and some shoes - complete with CURLY TOES. Still, it's out of period by a few years, and because of the particular style of illumination and clothing worn, I'm going to make the assumption that the first illumination is also slightly out of period.