Artwork
The farmer, father of the son with the deceitful wife, steals away with her anklet while she is in bed with her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The farmer, father of the son with the deceitful wife, steals away with her anklet while she is in bed with her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
History & Provenance
It was created in 1560 and has been part of the museum's collection since its acquisition, with no recorded exhibition history noted in the available sources.
The work was created in 1560 as part of the Tuti-nama manuscript, commissioned as a miniature painting for a Persian manuscript and attributed to an unknown artist. It entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains on view in the Indian and Persian Art galleries. Its creation is documented in a 1560 date recorded in the manuscript's colophon, indicating it was produced for a patron requesting illustrated tales of the parrot's eighth night story.
The painting is held by the Cleveland Museum of Art, accessioned under the identifier 1962.279.68.a. It was created in 1560 and has been part of the museum's collection since its acquisition, with no recorded exhibition history noted in the available sources.
Overview
The work, titled The farmer, father of the son with the deceitful wife, steals away with her anklet while she is in bed with her lover, depicts a nocturnal episode from the eighth night of the Persian narrative collection Tuti‑nama (Tales of a Parrot). A man slips quietly from a richly appointed chamber, clutching a small object that appears to be an anklet, while a sleeping woman lies beside her lover, oblivious to the theft. The scene is framed by an interior of patterned carpets, gilded pillows and a red canopy, opening onto a garden vista with a lantern‑bearing servant and a pavilion.
Subject & Meaning
The painting illustrates a moment of covert betrayal within a moral tale, emphasizing themes of infidelity, deception, and the consequences of secret actions. By focusing on the thief’s furtive exit and the unsuspecting couple, the composition underscores the tension between public appearance and private vice that characterizes many stories in the Tuti‑nama.
Technique & Style
Rendered in a detailed, narrative style, the artist employs a rich palette of reds, golds, and earth tones to convey the opulence of the interior and the twilight atmosphere outside. Fine brushwork delineates the intricate carpet patterns and the delicate folds of the canopy, while the figures are modeled with a subtle chiaroscuro that highlights the clandestine mood.
Artist & collection
- The farmer, father of the son with the deceitful wife, steals away with her anklet while she is in bed with her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The deceitful wife persuades her husband to sleep in the same place where she had previously slept with her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The deceitful wife persuades her husband to sleep in the same place where she had previously slept with her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Shahr-Arai and her lover dallying on a bed beneath which is concealed her husband, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth Night
The deceitful wife ejects the procuress after blackening her face, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The snake, hidden in a basket of flowers, reveals himself to the Raja who has just sent away his wife, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-third Night
The vizier’s son receives the magic wooden parrot from the wife of the merchant, who is drunk, and has a replica made by a carpenter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Tenth Night
The deceitful wife assaults her erring husband, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The deceitful wife ejects the procuress after blackening her face, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The pious man’s son, now a king, reveals himself to his father; his nurse upbraids his unfaithful mother, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-second Night
The two cooks, who attempt to seduce the warrior’s loyal wife, are trapped by her in a cellar, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fourth Night
Khalis repays the prince for his kindness by changing into a snake and sucking the poison from the king’s daughter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night
Latif, who has murdered his brother, falsely accuses Khurshid of the deed, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night
Shahr-Arai and her lover dallying on a bed beneath which is concealed her husband, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth Night
Latif, who has murdered his brother, falsely accuses Khurshid of the deed, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night
Shahr-Arai’s husband bends to kiss his wife who feigns sleep, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth Night
The monkey slain, his blood to be used as medicine for the ailing prince he has bitten, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night
The prince sent back to the place of execution for the sixth time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The prince sent back to the place of execution for the sixth time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night