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 known as Tales of a Parrot (Tuti‑nama).
About this work
History & Provenance
It has been exhibited at the museum under the title Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama), with the accession number cited in the gallery checklist.
The page is a painting dated to 1560 (inception 1560-01-01) and produced in the Mughal Empire. It is an anonymous text folio from the Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama) manuscript. The work is now in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, accession number 1962.279.283.a, which reflects its acquisition by the museum in 1962.
The sources do not record any earlier ownership, commission, or provenance details. Thus its known history begins with its entry into the Cleveland Museum of Art.
The text page is held by the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, where it carries the accession number 1962.279.283.a and is cataloged as part of the museum’s Mughal holdings.
It has been exhibited at the museum under the title Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama), with the accession number cited in the gallery checklist.
Overview
This object is a painted page from the Persian manuscript known as Tales of a Parrot (Tuti‑nama). The entire surface is occupied by a continuous block of text rendered in a flowing, decorative script. The page measures roughly the size of a typical folio and shows signs of age, including yellowing and surface staining, indicating long use and storage.
Subject & Meaning
The page contains narrative prose in a foreign script, likely Persian, that forms part of the larger moral and romantic tale of the Tuti‑nama. The extensive text suggests the page was intended for reading rather than illustration, serving as a vehicle for the story’s didactic and entertainment functions within the courtly culture that produced it.
Technique & Style
Ink in deep black fills the cursive letters, while the background is a light‑brown ground that has darkened with time. Thin red and blue lines frame the margins, adding a modest decorative touch. The hand of the calligrapher is evident in the elegant flourishes and tight spacing, characteristic of high‑court Persian manuscript production.
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
