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.
About this work
History & Provenance
The manuscript page was subsequently acquired by the museum through a bequest, documented in its accession records, and catalogued under the identifier 1962.
The miniature was created in 1560 within the Mughal imperial workshop and entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains on view.
The work was commissioned as part of a Persian-language manuscript of the Tuti-nama, a didactic frame story that circulated widely across the Islamic world. Its attribution to an unnamed artist reflects typical workshop practice of the period, wherein individual painters contributed discrete folios under studio supervision.
The manuscript page was subsequently acquired by the museum through a bequest, documented in its accession records, and catalogued under the identifier 1962.279.178.a. The object's provenance is limited to the imperial atelier of the 16th‑century Mughal court before its arrival in Cleveland.
No earlier owners or sale records are recorded in the available sources.
The page is held by the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is catalogued under inventory number 1962.279.178.a. It was produced in the Mughal Empire in 1560 and entered the museum's collection as part of the broader Tuti-nama manuscript. No exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Overview
The work presents a single page rendered as a painted image, dominated by dense black lettering set against a warm, beige ground that resembles paper or parchment. The script flows in a cursive hand, with occasional underlining or slightly darker strokes that draw attention to particular words or phrases. The composition suggests a continuous narrative or poetic text, conveyed through the visual density of the writing.
Subject & Meaning
The image functions as a visual representation of a manuscript page, emphasizing the materiality of written culture. By isolating the text without accompanying illustration, the piece foregrounds the act of reading and the aesthetic qualities of calligraphy, inviting contemplation of the content’s presumed literary or poetic nature, even though the language remains unidentified.
Technique & Style
Executed in paint, the artist reproduces the texture of parchment through subtle tonal variations and a faint surface grain. The black script is rendered with fine brushwork that mimics the fluidity of ink, while the underlined passages are achieved by a marginally deeper hue, creating a layered visual hierarchy. The overall palette is restrained, reinforcing the manuscript’s refined character.
Context
The work belongs to a tradition of depicting books and manuscripts as objects of artistic interest, a practice common in cultures that value the written word as a visual art form. Its ambiguous script and luxurious presentation suggest an association with elite literary production, possibly reflecting the status of the original text within its historical setting.
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
