A night scene with a kneeling lady with two female attendants visiting a hermit seated in front of a cave in a wooded landscape under a starry sky and crescent moon. In the immediate foreground is a stretch of water with three pairs of diminutive birds at its edge. Above this the group of three figures sit by an open fire while a fourth holds a bowl full of sweetmeats. All the figures, except the lady, are shown in robes of muted colours of grey and pink. By contrast, the lady is bejewelled and dressed in a golden material decorated with crimson flowers and a deep burgundy-coloured patka, over which is draped a white odhani spotted in gold with a green and gold border.
The pale brown frame round the painting is decorated with a scrolling pattern of alternate daisy-like flowers and trefoils in gold. It is outlined with black and white lines and a gold washline edged with a dark blue outline. The border comprises a row of alternate red poppy flowers and buds with single blooms of pink lilies outlined in gold. The edge of the page has a blue-green margin made of collaged strips of paper outlined in white. A grey strip of paper has been added to the right hand edge of the page to act as a gutter for the binding. Remnants of a red band round the edges of the page is still apparent under the present paper margins and gutter.

18th Century

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