Artwork
Khurshid reunited with her husband Utarid, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night
Khurshid reunited with her husband Utarid, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second 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
The specific folio depicting Khurshid reunited with her husband Utarid was produced during the thirty-second night of the narrative sequence.
Created in 1560 within the Mughal Empire, this painting forms part of the illustrated manuscript known as the Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot). The specific folio depicting Khurshid reunited with her husband Utarid was produced during the thirty-second night of the narrative sequence. While the individual artist remains unidentified, the work entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is cataloged under the accession number 1962.279.216.b. The museum's records confirm its inception date as 1560 and its origin in the Mughal court tradition.
The painting is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection. It was acquired by the museum in 1962 under accession number 1962.279.216.b. The work was displayed in the museum's South Asian Art gallery in the exhibition "India: Art and Culture 1500-1900" in 1995.
Context
The work is recognized as a pivotal illustration in the Tuti-nama manuscript tradition, marking a moment of marital reunion that exemplifies narrative resolution within Mughal storytelling. Scholars highlight its compositional balance and use of naturalistic detail as markers of late 16th-century courtly painting, situating it within the broader evolution of Persianate artistic conventions in the imperial context. Its presence in a major American museum collection underscores its significance in the transnational reception of South Asian visual culture.
Overview
The work illustrates a narrative from the thirty‑second episode of the Persian illustrated manuscript known as the Tuti‑nama, or "Tales of a Parrot." It is divided into two juxtaposed scenes: on the left, three figures in vivid yellow, orange and blue garments stand before a tiled wall; on the right, a kneeling man in red and green embraces a woman in white beside a bed, with a patterned wall and a balcony with domes visible beyond.
Subject & Meaning
The paired images depict the reunion of Khurshid with her husband Utarid, a moment recounted in the story’s romantic episode. The left panel sets a formal, possibly ceremonial context, while the right panel focuses on the intimate embrace, emphasizing the emotional resolution of the tale.
Technique & Style
Executed in flat, saturated pigments, the painting relies on bold color blocks rather than chiaroscuro to model form. Geometric motifs decorate the tiled surfaces and textiles, and the composition is organized with clear, linear outlines, characteristic of Persian miniature conventions that prioritize decorative pattern over realistic depth.
Artist & collection
- Khurshid reunited with her husband Utarid, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night
Kaiwan sends a message of love to Khurshid, wife of his brother Utarid who is away on a journey, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night
The marriage of ‘Ubaid, son of a merchant of Tirmiz, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-second Night
Kaiwan sends a message of love to Khurshid, wife of his brother Utarid who is away on a journey, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night
Mahrusa’s marriage to the prefect of the city, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-sixth Night
The Brahman gives an account of his falling in love with the king of Babylon’s daughter to his friend, the magician, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-fifth Night
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-third night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
The deceitful wife returns to her terrace after caressing her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-seventh night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
The third suitor strikes the devotee’s daughter and thus restores her to life, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twentieth Night
The three suitors again begin to quarrel among themselves for the hand of the devotee’s daughter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twentieth Night
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page