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. This object is a painted page from the Persian manuscript Tales of a Parrot (Tuti‑nama).
About this work
Technique & Style
The miniature is painted on paper using tempera pigments, a technique typical of Mughal book illustration from the mid-sixteenth century.
The miniature is painted on paper using tempera pigments, a technique typical of Mughal book illustration from the mid-sixteenth century. The work was created in the imperial atelier of the Mughal Empire, where artists prepared finely ruled folios as supports for layered washes and precise outlines. The surface bears the characteristic flatness of Persianate composition, while the delicate handling of line and muted palette reflect the stylistic refinement of courtly narrative painting.
The piece measures 27.3 cm by 19.1 cm, preserving the original dimensions of the foliosheet as recorded in the museum catalogue.
History & Provenance
The text page belongs to the dispersed manuscript known as the Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama), a Mughal-era work dated to circa 1560. The Cleveland Museum of Art acquired the sheet in 1962 as part of an anonymous gift (accession 1962.279.1.b), placing it within their holdings without a documented earlier provenance. The manuscript’s origins are conventionally situated in the Mughal Empire during the mid-sixteenth century, consistent with the stylistic and codicological features of the ensemble.
The text page from the Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama) is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The institution assigns the work the accession number 1962.279.1.b. While the artwork dates to 1560 and originated within the Mughal Empire, the provided records do not list specific exhibitions or further provenance details beyond its current location and inventory classification.
Legacy
The 1560 manuscript page depicting a parrot from the Tuti-nama was created during the Mughal period and entered the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. It is attributed to an unknown artist but exemplifies the stylistic influence of Persian miniature traditions on Indian book arts. The work's narrative illustration approach contributed to later interpretations of animal fables in manuscript painting across South Asia.
Overview
This object is a painted page from the Persian manuscript Tales of a Parrot (Tuti‑nama). The sheet measures roughly the size of a standard folio and is composed of aged, light‑tan paper. Its surface is dominated by dense black calligraphy, bounded by a narrow red ornamental frame, with occasional red ink accents that punctuate the text.
Subject & Meaning
The inscribed narrative belongs to the Tuti‑nama, a collection of moral and romantic stories traditionally presented to a royal patron. This particular leaf was prepared for Prince Salim, suggesting it formed part of a personalized gift or instructional volume intended to entertain and instruct the young noble.
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