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The parrot mother cautions her young on the danger of playing with foxes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night, by Daswanth, unspecified, 1560

The parrot mother cautions her young on the danger of playing with foxes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night

Daswanth

1560

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance Animal

Dominant colour

The parrot mother cautions her young on the danger of playing with foxes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night is a 1560 unspecified by Daswanth, a Mughal Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?
Daswanth
When & what style?
1560 · Mughal Painting
Where can I see it?
Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a bright green parrot mom on a tree branch, scolding her chicks while fox cubs play below. This painting comes from a book of parrot tales told to a queen in 1500s India. The artist, Dasavanta, worked for Emperor Akbar, who loved stories. The colors are flat and bold—no shadows—so every leaf and feather pops. If you like this, look up Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605) to see more of these lively, storybook paintings.

The story of this work

Overview

One night the parrot Tuti tells Khujasta that he hopes her relationship with her new lover does not wind up being only half-baked, like the medical treatment of the king of Kamarupa. She asks what that was about, and Tuti begins the story by telling of a mother parrot who lived in the forest with her young, who liked to play with the fox cubs who lived at the base of the tree. The mother parrot is perched on the edge of her treetop nest.

Did you know?

A fox cub suckles contentedly, as the mother keeps a sharp eye on the others.

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Same subject

The hunter throws away the baby parrots, who pretend to be dead, and captures the mother, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night
The hunter throws away the baby parrots, who pretend to be dead, and captures the mother, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night Basawan
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-third night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-third night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot) Unknown
The woman conversing with her children, as the leopard returns, egged on by a fox who is tied to his leg, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirtieth Night
The woman conversing with her children, as the leopard returns, egged on by a fox who is tied to his leg, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirtieth Night Unknown

Visually similar

The king plucks fruit from the Tree of Life with his own hands and feeds it to a lady, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night
The king plucks fruit from the Tree of Life with his own hands and feeds it to a lady, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night Suraju
The wolf and the jackal, serving as viziers, instigate the lion who pursues the Brahman up a tree, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-first Night
The wolf and the jackal, serving as viziers, instigate the lion who pursues the Brahman up a tree, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-first Night Unknown
The lion returns to his territory and sees the monkey conversing with the lynx, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth Night
The lion returns to his territory and sees the monkey conversing with the lynx, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth Night Unknown
The monkey advises the suspicious lion to cast off fear and take possession of his territory, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth Night
The monkey advises the suspicious lion to cast off fear and take possession of his territory, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth Night Unknown
The Brahman comes upon a lion who has a deer and a gazelle as his viziers, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-first Night
The Brahman comes upon a lion who has a deer and a gazelle as his viziers, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-first Night Unknown
The daughter-in-law of the king of Banaras sees the jackal deprived of its food by a bird, as it unsuccessfully attempts to catch a fish, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Sixteenth Night
The daughter-in-law of the king of Banaras sees the jackal deprived of its food by a bird, as it unsuccessfully attempts to catch a fish, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Sixteenth Night Unknown
The gardener seizes and beats a donkey who insisted on braying, while the deer, its companion flees to safety, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-first Night
The gardener seizes and beats a donkey who insisted on braying, while the deer, its companion flees to safety, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-first Night Unknown
The wolf and the jackal, serving as viziers, instigate the lion who pursues the Brahman up a tree, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-first Night
The wolf and the jackal, serving as viziers, instigate the lion who pursues the Brahman up a tree, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-first Night Unknown
The cat attacks the mice which disturb the lion, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night
The cat attacks the mice which disturb the lion, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night Unknown

More by Daswanth

The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Sixth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)

The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Sixth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)

Daswanth
The wounded monkey bites the hand of the prince, his chessmate, in the presence of guests, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night

The wounded monkey bites the hand of the prince, his chessmate, in the presence of guests, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night

Daswanth
The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Sixth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)

The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Sixth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)

Daswanth
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