Artwork

In order to falsely implicate her husband, Hamnaz places a knife by his side and lets the blood dripping from her nose stain his clothes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-fifth Night

In order to falsely implicate her husband, Hamnaz places a knife by his side and lets the blood dripping from her nose stain his clothes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-fifth Night is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The canvas captures a tense episode from the Persian collection of stories known as the Tuti‑nama.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The work functions as a story illustration, capturing the precise moment of framing an innocent party through staged violence and self-inflicted injury.

This 1560 Mughal painting illustrates a specific narrative from the twenty-fifth night of the Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot). The scene depicts the character Hamnaz engaging in a calculated act of deception to falsely accuse her spouse. Visually, the composition focuses on her placement of a knife beside her sleeping husband while she allows blood dripping from her own nose to stain his garments.

This iconography serves as a visual representation of treachery and the manipulation of physical evidence within the domestic sphere. The work functions as a story illustration, capturing the precise moment of framing an innocent party through staged violence and self-inflicted injury.

Technique & Style

This folio from the Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot) exemplifies Mughal manuscript painting of the mid-16th century. Executed on paper, the work employs opaque watercolor (gouache) and gold leaf, characteristic of the period’s imperial ateliers. Fine brushwork defines intricate details, such as textile patterns and facial expressions, while delicate washes create luminous gradations in skin tones and drapery.

Stylistically, the composition adheres to Persianate conventions, flattened spatial recession, hierarchical scale, and rhythmic linear contours, yet incorporates Mughal naturalism in the rendering of figures and textiles. The palette favors muted earth tones punctuated by vivid accents, particularly in the bloodstains and garments. The painting’s condition remains stable within its bound manuscript context, though minor losses or abrasions may affect marginal areas, as typical for folio works of this age.

History & Provenance

The miniature depicting Hamnaz placing a knife beside her husband while blood from her nose stains his garments originates from a Tuti-nama manuscript attributed to an artist linked to the Mughal imperial workshop, painted circa 1560. It entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains on view in the Indian and Islamic Art galleries. The work was created during the mid‑sixteenth century in the Mughal Empire, reflecting the courtly narrative tradition of the period.

Overview

The canvas captures a tense episode from the Persian collection of stories known as the Tuti‑nama. A woman in a vivid orange gown leans over a reclining male figure, clutching a knife while blood drips from her nose onto his garments. The setting is an interior with richly patterned furnishings, emphasizing the dramatic narrative moment.

Context

The work belongs to a visual tradition that translates literary episodes from the Tuti‑nama into painted form, a practice common in Persian and South Asian courts where storytelling and visual culture intersected. The composition’s focus on a single, climactic moment mirrors the episodic structure of the source text.

Artist & collection

Museum

Cleveland Museum of Art

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