Dr Ursula Weekes /// London-based art historian, author and speaker, specialising in Mughal and Rajput painting 
Pic courtesy/The Cleveland Museum of Art

This painting made in Lucknow, c. 1760, was not made as a Diwali scene but it still captures the spirit of the festival for me, as shower upon shower of golden fireworks lights up the sky, dispelling the darkness. Three royal women hold magnificent phuljhari sparklers, which they sensibly allow to cascade onto little pools of water on their riverside terrace. The marble balustrade overlooking their verdant river garden is decorated with little burning lamps. But my favourite details are the tiny figures in the distance, barely visible at first, who are busy setting off the pyrotechnics. Some are in boats on the river, with little diyas placed around the rim of each boat. Other men are on the far bank, holding fireworks which whizz and fizz in their hands as they dash here and there. The precision of the artist in drawing each spark of golden light is breathtaking. Unlike sparks of fire, these dashes of paint never extinguish, and thus evoke for me, showers of real gold, reminding us that Diwali is a festival where Laxmi Devi is invited to give prosperity and wealth.