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 object is a single folio from the illustrated manuscript Tales of a Parrot (Tuti‑nama).
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This is a text page from the Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot), a collection of moral tales framed as stories told by a parrot to detain a merchant's wife.
This is a text page from the Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot), a collection of moral tales framed as stories told by a parrot to detain a merchant's wife. As a text folio rather than an illustrated leaf, the page carries the Persian narrative that forms the literary backbone of the manuscript, conveying its didactic tradition in which the parrot's tales transmit ethical instruction. Produced in the Mughal Empire, the manuscript exemplifies the synthesis of Persian literary themes with Indian artistic production, representing a significant example of 16th-century Mughal book arts.
History & Provenance
Created in 1560 within the Mughal Empire, this text page from the Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot) was produced by an artist whose specific identity remains unrecorded. The work entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is cataloged under the accession number 1962.279.191.a. While the exact circumstances of its original commission are not detailed in available records, its dating to 1560 places it firmly within the mid-sixteenth century production of this celebrated manuscript series.
Overview
The object is a single folio from the illustrated manuscript Tales of a Parrot (Tuti‑nama). Rendered on light‑brown paper, the page is entirely occupied by a flowing black calligraphic script, bordered by modest decorative lines along the top and sides. Subtle blue and red discolorations, likely water stains, appear sporadically across the surface.
Technique & Style
The calligraphy exhibits a precise, uniform hand characteristic of elite manuscript production in the early modern Indian subcontinent. The black ink is applied with a fine brush, creating smooth, continuous strokes. Decorative framing lines are rendered in a lighter hand, while the faint colored stains suggest later exposure to moisture rather than intentional pigment.
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