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The old man eats of the fruit of the Tree of Life, but drops dead, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night

Lalu

1560

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance

Dominant colour

The old man eats of the fruit of the Tree of Life, but drops dead, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night is a 1560 unspecified by Lalu, a Mughal Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

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

About this work

A king sits on his throne, staring at an old man who just collapsed after eating fruit. A parrot in a cage watches from the center of the room. The king’s guards look ready to kill the bird. The parrot had brought the fruit to the king, but the old man took a bite first—only to drop dead. The king thinks the parrot betrayed him. What he doesn’t know: a snake bit the fruit earlier, poisoning it. This painting is part of a book of stories told to a Mughal emperor. To see more like it, look up *Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)*.

The story of this work

Overview

The enthroned king stares in amazement at the body of the old man. The parrot, who brought the king the fruit, sits in a cage at the center of the room. Believing the parrot to be a traitor, the king orders his execution. However, unbeknownst to the king, the fruit was actually poisoned by the bite of a venomous snake.