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Shahr-Arai and her husband adopt her lover as a brother in the family, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth Night

Unknown

1560

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance

Dominant colour

Shahr-Arai and her husband adopt her lover as a brother in the family, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth 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 small painting of three people sitting on the floor in a richly decorated room. A woman and her husband offer food to a young man, who bows his head. This scene comes from a story in the *Tuti-nama*, a book of parrot tales written for Emperor Akbar. The wife has tricked her husband into accepting her lover as a brother—without him ever realizing the truth. The bright colors and fine details show how Mughal artists told stories in pictures. To see more paintings like this, look up Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605).

The story of this work

Overview

Shahr-Arai and her husband sit together on the right, offering food to Shah-Arai’s lover. She has successfully tricked her gullible husband, and he gladly welcomes the young man into their household. From this point on, the three live happily together—the husband never uncovering the truth of Shah-Arai’s deception.