Artwork
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The object is a single folio from the Persian illustrated manuscript known as Tales of a Parrot (Tuti‑nama).
About this work
Technique & Style
Formal qualities include fine linear drawing, restrained color modulation, and compositional balance reflecting Persianate narrative illustration traditions.
The page is a painted text sheet on paper, created using pigment and brushwork typical of Mughal miniature painting in the mid-sixteenth century. The support is paper, handled as a delicate manuscript leaf within a bound album. Formal qualities include fine linear drawing, restrained color modulation, and compositional balance reflecting Persianate narrative illustration traditions.
Condition is stable but fragile, with minor foliar wear along the edges consistent with centuries of handling. The work was produced in the Mughal imperial context and later entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
The miniature page originates from a 1560 manuscript produced in the Mughal Empire, likely commissioned within that artistic context. It entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art at an unspecified date, where it remains housed today. The work is attributed to an anonymous artist associated with Mughal manuscript painting traditions of the mid-sixteenth century.
Overview
The object is a single folio from the Persian illustrated manuscript known as Tales of a Parrot (Tuti‑nama). The page consists entirely of handwritten text, rendered in dense black ink across a cream‑colored paper that bears subtle blue‑grey speckles. The script flows in tightly set lines, creating a visual rhythm as the eye moves across the page.
Subject & Meaning
The inscription presents a narrative passage intended for slow, contemplative reading. The language and structure suggest a moral or didactic story, a common feature of the Tuti‑nama tradition, which employed parrot‑told tales to convey ethical lessons.
Artist & collection
- Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page