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Preparation for the marriage of Mahmuda to the Young Vizier, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-third Night

Unknown

1560

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance

Dominant colour

Preparation for the marriage of Mahmuda to the Young Vizier, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-third Night is a 1560 unspecified by Unknown, a Mughal Painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1560 · Mughal Painting
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a busy palace scene: musicians at the bottom, a couple sitting under a canopy, and servants carrying gifts. This painting comes from a book of parrot tales told to Emperor Akbar. The story here is bittersweet—Mahmuda is forced to marry someone she doesn’t love, while her sweetheart watches, heartbroken. The artist packed the scene with tiny details, like the patterns on the carpets and the expressions on the faces. To see more art from this time, look up *Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)*.

The story of this work

Overview

In the lower register of this bustling scene, musicians play in celebration of the impending wedding. Above, the betrothed couple sits at the right. Although Mahmuda was happily engaged to her childhood sweetheart, Ayaz, the young vizier wanted her for himself. Mahmuda’s father, the grand vizier, agrees to the arrangement. Heartbroken, Ayaz believes he has lost Mahmuda forever.