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The dervish brings the King of Kings before the king of Bahilistan, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Seventh Night

Unknown

1560

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance Made for Prince Salim

Dominant colour

The dervish brings the King of Kings before the king of Bahilistan, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Seventh Night is a 1560 unspecified by Unknown, a Mughal Painting work, depicting Made for Prince Salim, 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 king sitting on a throne under a gold canopy while a holy man leads another king toward him. Bright colors fill the scene—red, blue, and green robes, a garden with water channels, and tiny flowers underfoot. This painting comes from a book of parrot tales made for Emperor Akbar’s court. The story is wild: a king demands another king’s head as a wedding gift, but the second king just shows up alive. The gold leaf under the throne was later painted over, hiding part of the original design. If you like these bold colors and royal stories, look up Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605).

The story of this work

Overview

The vizier advised the king that he should tell the dervish that he must bring the head of the King of Kings before he will give his daughter in marriage to him. The dervish then went to the King of Kings with his plight, who said that he would go himself to the local king, and bring him his head still attached to his body. At the bottom of the composition is a formal garden with leafy groundcover and canals of water. The composition has been altered, as there was an oval of gold beneath the central pool of water and orange tiles under the architectural pavilions on the roof. The strip of…