The use of a dark color palette to render an overcast evening atmosphere and of luminous effects to suggest a light source from within was prevalent in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century paintings from the semi-autonomous state of Awadh in northern India. These same techniques are evident in the image of Ragini Pancham. Thus, this illustration could have also been produced there despite the Mughal style. When the exact provenance of artwork in the Mughal manner is unknown, and there seems to be no indication of imperial patronage, art historians often classify it as "provincial Mughal," suggesting non-imperial patronage. However, scholars have problematized this term in recent years due to its pejorative connotation.