The subject of childbirth is an unusual scene in Indian paintings, though few examples are known across the Mughal, Rajput and Pahari schools. The Pahari workshops, particularly in the first generation after Manaku and Nainsukh, were well known for their romantic subjects, themes such as the Gita Govinda, the Rasikapriya, and the Sundar Shringar being favored subjects of the era. The taste is reflected in the present painting, which depicts the labor with great sensitivity and preciousness- the expectant mother's feed are being tenderly massaged by one of her attending ladies, while another stands by to fan her, and an elderly figure, perhaps even her mother sits beside her for comfort. The scene portrays a quiet excitement, or peaceful anticipation ahead of the great feat of childbirth.
This splendid painting is attributable to an artist from the first generation after Manaku and Nainsukh. Although it is difficult to attribute the painting to a specific individual from the family, the delicacy of workmanship and the style are clearly influenced by earlier works painted by the previous generation and are also comparable with other contemporaneous works attributed to the family workshop. There are many indications that brothers and cousins worked together on projects and Manaku's son, Fattu, is known to have assisted his uncle Nainsukh. Some of the most well-known series of paintings from the Pahari region were produced between approximately 1770 and 1810 and have been attributed to the first generation after Manaku and Nainsukh. For a list of known series and individual works attributed to this remarkable group of painters, see Beach, Fischer, Goswamy, 2011, pp. 689-694. For paintings attributed to the first generation after Manaku and Nainsukh which have sold at auction recently, see works from the 'Bharany' Ramayana sold at Christie's New York 21 September 2022, lot 432 for $315,000, and on 23 March 2022, lot 466, for $201,600, and on 27 September 2023, lot 501 for $126,000; also see a painting of Krishna playing 'Blind Man's Bluff,' also formerly from the collection of Baroness Guy de Gunzburg, sold 22 September 2021, lot 460 for $75,000.