Indian Bone Playing Card

Crowned figure reclines under a canopy while a woman reaches out with obvious purpose.

This painted bone playing card is from India, and dates to the early 20th century. It is pigment & bone. Playing cards reached India in the early modern period, and the best-known Indian form is the circular ganjifa, traditionally painted by hand in sets of eight or twelve suits. Circular panel with a dark ground and a patterned pavilion. A figure in a turban lies on a low bed under a pillared canopy, while a woman in a pink and orange sari leans in. White flaking shows on the bed. It is 1.6 inches in diameter.

A lot of drama for a plate this small.