Artwork
Shahr-Arai and her lover dallying on a bed beneath which is concealed her husband, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth Night
Shahr-Arai and her lover dallying on a bed beneath which is concealed her husband, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth Night is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The miniature illustrates an intimate interior where a couple reclines on a richly patterned bed.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The miniature shows Shahr-Arai and her lover entwined on a bed while her husband hides beneath, illustrating a moment from the fortieth night of the Tuti-nama.
The miniature shows Shahr-Arai and her lover entwined on a bed while her husband hides beneath, illustrating a moment from the fortieth night of the Tuti-nama. The scene juxtaposes illicit passion with domestic secrecy, using the concealed husband as a narrative device to heighten tension and underscore themes of betrayal and desire. The composition relies on intimate domestic settings and intricate detailing to convey the moral complexity of the story.
The work belongs to the Mughal painting tradition, created around 1560 in the imperial atelier of the Mughal Empire. It is housed in the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is cataloged as 1962.279.259.b.
Iconographically, the concealed husband functions as a symbolic obstacle, representing social constraints and the peril of transgressive love. The domestic interior and the act of concealment emphasize secrecy and the precariousness of the lovers' affair, reinforcing the moral lesson embedded in the narrative.
History & Provenance
Created in 1560 within the Mughal Empire, this painting forms part of the illuminated manuscript known as the Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot). The work was executed by an artist whose specific identity remains unrecorded in available documentation.
The artwork currently resides in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is cataloged under the accession number 1962.279.259.b. While the precise circumstances of its original commission and the full chain of ownership prior to its museum acquisition are not detailed in the provided records, its establishment as a sixteenth-century Mughal production is firmly documented.
Overview
The miniature illustrates an intimate interior where a couple reclines on a richly patterned bed. Bright orange‑blue and white‑gold textiles drape the figures, while a concealed figure in purple peeks from beneath the mattress. Simple walls frame a window and a niche, and an elegant Persian inscription crowns the scene, indicating its narrative source.
Technique & Style
Executed in the Persian miniature tradition, the work employs flat, vivid colors and intricate decorative patterns on the fabrics and architectural elements. Fine brushwork renders the figures’ expressions, while the use of perspective is minimal, focusing attention on narrative detail rather than realistic space.
Context
Miniature painting was a central art form in Safavid Iran, serving both literary and decorative purposes. Scenes like this one were designed to accompany poetic texts, enhancing storytelling through visual cues and elaborate ornamentation characteristic of courtly culture.
Artist & collection
- Shahr-Arai and her lover dallying on a bed beneath which is concealed her husband, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth Night
The snake, hidden in a basket of flowers, reveals himself to the Raja who has just sent away his wife, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-third Night
Shahr-Arai’s husband bends to kiss his wife who feigns sleep, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth Night
The deceitful wife persuades her husband to sleep in the same place where she had previously slept with her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Shahr-Arai’s husband bends to kiss his wife who feigns sleep, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth Night
The farmer, father of the son with the deceitful wife, steals away with her anklet while she is in bed with her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The farmer, father of the son with the deceitful wife, steals away with her anklet while she is in bed with her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The deceitful wife assaults her erring husband, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The daughter-in-law returns from her misadventure, feigning insanity, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Sixteenth Night
Kamjuy, the wife of the Raja, averts her face from the fishes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-third Night
The Brahman’s wife who killed a peacock and ate its gallbladder on the physician’s advice, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Nineteenth Night
In order to falsely implicate her husband, Hamnaz places a knife by his side and lets the blood dripping from her nose stain his clothes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-fifth Night
In order to falsely implicate her husband, Hamnaz places a knife by his side and lets the blood dripping from her nose stain his clothes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-fifth Night
The snake, hidden in a basket of flowers, reveals himself to the Raja who has just sent away his wife, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-third Night
Habbaza’s sister, who is sent to console her, discovers the disguised Arab in her place, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-fourth Night
The king of Zabul sees Mahrusa from his palace balcony, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-sixth Night