The prince sent back to the place of execution for the sixth time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
1560
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1560
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a king on a throne, a handmaiden pleading, and a bound prince kneeling below, about to be executed—again. This is the sixth time the king has ordered the prince’s death in this story. The artist shows every try in one frame: the handmaiden’s lies, the vizier’s delay, the prince’s quiet fear. It’s like a comic strip from 1560, packed into one small painting. To see more stories like this, look up Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605).
