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 single folio from the Persian manuscript known as Tales of a Parrot (Tuti‑nama).
About this work
History & Provenance
The Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama) is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it bears the accession number 1962.
Created in 1560 within the Mughal Empire, this text page from the Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot) was produced by an unidentified artist. The work entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is cataloged under the accession number 1962.279.45.b. While the specific circumstances of its original commission and the intermediate ownership chain prior to its museum acquisition are not detailed in the available records, the piece is firmly established as a mid-sixteenth-century Mughal painting held in Cleveland.
The Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama) is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it bears the accession number 1962.279.45.b. It is identified as a painting by an unknown artist, created within the Mughal Empire around 1560. The work entered the museum’s holdings as part of its Mughal painting collection and is catalogued as a text page from the illustrated manuscript dated to circa 1560. No exhibition history is recorded in the available sources.
Overview
This object is a single folio from the Persian manuscript known as Tales of a Parrot (Tuti‑nama). The page consists of densely set black calligraphic script framed by a narrow red margin, and the paper exhibits a warm, slightly yellowed tone typical of historic parchment. Decorative punctuations of dots and dashes interrupt the text, providing visual rhythm within the dense layout.
Subject & Meaning
The manuscript was composed for Prince Salim, a member of the Safavid court, and presents a collection of moral and didactic stories narrated by a parrot. The text’s precise and measured style reflects the courtly emphasis on literary refinement and the didactic purpose of the work, which aimed to instruct its princely patron through allegorical tales.
Technique & Style
The page was hand‑written by a skilled calligrapher using black ink applied with a reed pen, producing uniform, tightly spaced letters characteristic of the Nastaʿlīq script. A thin red border, likely added with pigment or ink, frames the text, while occasional ornamental dots and dashes serve both decorative and functional roles, enhancing legibility and aesthetic balance.
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