This 1740 Punjab Hills painting shows an early Indian Ghoonghat. Armed officers capture two thieves: one is humiliated with a slipper beating, and the other, turban askew, is led away. Onlookers, including veiled women, watch the scene.
Life continues around them: a couple shops for trinkets, boys dance to music, and two boys deliberate at a sweetseller's shop. In the foreground, a pink-robed Kanphata yogi meditates at a Shiva shrine.
Though damaged, this lively scene reflects the style of Nainsukh, a prominent artist of the Punjab Hill courts.