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Nikfal, the fortune of the prince in the form of a woman, offers to accompany him, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night

Unknown

1560

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance

Dominant colour

Nikfal, the fortune of the prince in the form of a woman, offers to accompany him, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night is a 1560 unspecified by Unknown, a Mughal Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

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

About this work

A prince and a woman sit in a bright meadow full of deer. The sky is deep blue with gold swirls. She wears flowing Indian clothes; he’s dressed in layered Central Asian robes. This scene comes from a *Tuti-nama*, or "Tales of a Parrot," a book of stories Emperor Akbar loved. The woman is actually good luck in human form—her name, Nikfal, means just that. The painting mixes Persian and Indian styles, showing how art changed under Mughal rule. To see more like it, look up Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605).

The story of this work

Overview

The good fortune of the dervish that the prince purchased with his ring appeared to him in the form of a beautiful woman named Nikfal, meaning “Good Fortune.” The pair converse amiably in a grassy meadow full of deer under a lapis lazuli–blue sky with gold arabesque motifs. She wears Indian garments, while the prince is dressed as a Mughal in Central Asian garments. The story is said to take place in Zabulistan, in western Afghanistan.