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 work is a painted representation of a manuscript page from the narrative collection known as Tales of a Parrot.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The page functions as an iconographic representation of storytelling within the courtly tradition, emphasizing themes of wisdom and didacticism.
The depicted subject is a textual page from the Persian narrative Tuti-nama, a didactic frame story featuring animal fables. Symbolically, the work reflects Mughal artistic patronage of Persian literary culture and moral instruction through illustrated manuscripts. The page functions as an iconographic representation of storytelling within the courtly tradition, emphasizing themes of wisdom and didacticism.
The painting originates from the Mughal Empire and was created in 1560, as documented by its date and classification as a painting.
History & Provenance
The Cleveland Museum of Art acquired the text page from the Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama) in 1962 as part of a larger acquisition, where it was assigned the accession number 1962.279.189.a. The work is dated to 1560, aligning it with the Mughal Empire’s artistic production under Akbar’s reign. Its creation history situates it within the broader Tuti-nama manuscript tradition, a Persian text translated and illustrated in India during the mid-16th century. The provenance prior to 1962 remains undocumented in the museum’s records.
The text page from the Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama), created in 1560 within the Mughal Empire, is currently held by the Cleveland Museum of Art. The museum assigns this specific painting the accession number 1962.279.189.a. While the work dates to the mid-sixteenth century, the institution acquired it in the twentieth century, with records indicating its presence in the collection by 1962. No specific exhibition history or loan records are detailed in the available documentation.
Overview
The work is a painted representation of a manuscript page from the narrative collection known as Tales of a Parrot. Rendered on a warm‑toned sheet that suggests aged paper, the composition is dominated by dense black calligraphy, its lines framed by a slender red margin. The visual effect mimics a fully occupied page, punctuated by occasional enlarged ornamental letters.
Technique & Style
Executed in pigment on paper, the piece employs a monochrome black ink for the script, contrasted by a thin vermilion border that delineates the page edge. The hand‑drawn lettering shows a blend of cursive connections and isolated forms, with occasional enlarged initials that echo medieval illumination practices.
Context
During the era of its creation, there was a broader fascination in the West with Oriental manuscripts, spurring artists to emulate the look of antique texts. This work reflects that trend, serving both as a study of calligraphic form and as a cultural bridge to the literary tradition of the Tuti‑nama.
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