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The emir slays the snake after giving it shelter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-fifth Night, by Unknown, unspecified, 1560

The emir slays the snake after giving it shelter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-fifth Night

Unknown

1560

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance

Dominant colour

The emir slays the snake after giving it shelter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-fifth 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 split into two scenes: in the top, a man in orange talks to another man while a snake hides under his robe; in the bottom, the same man smashes the snake on the ground. This is from a book of parrot tales made for Emperor Akbar’s court. The story warns about trusting the untrustworthy—even when you’ve shown kindness. The snake is tiny, almost missed, but it changes everything. To see more work from this time, look up *Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)*.

The story of this work

Overview

In the upper register, the emir addresses the snake’s owner. The snake itself hides, barely visible beneath the edge of the emir’s orange robe. In the bottom scene, the emir dashes the snake on the ground having realized that the dangerous animal planned to kill him.

Did you know?

The previous folio, showing Khujasta addressing Tuti the parrot, is currently in the collection of the National Museum of Asian Art-Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Same subject

The Emir slays the snake after giving it shelter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-fifth Night
The Emir slays the snake after giving it shelter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-fifth Night Unknown
The snake enters into an argument with the frog, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-sixth Night
The snake enters into an argument with the frog, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-sixth Night Unknown
The merchant has the hateful skull ground and put into a box, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-third Night
The merchant has the hateful skull ground and put into a box, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-third Night Unknown
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-first night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-first night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot) Unknown
The old man eats of the fruit of the Tree of Life, but drops dead, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night
The old man eats of the fruit of the Tree of Life, but drops dead, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night Lalu
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-third night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-third night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot) Unknown

Same mood & palette

The goldsmith judged; the bear cubs trained by the carpenter as though they were his sons, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Third Night
The goldsmith judged; the bear cubs trained by the carpenter as though they were his sons, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Third Night Unknown
Khulasa, a vizier, sees the daughter of Khassa, another vizier, and covets her, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-first Night
Khulasa, a vizier, sees the daughter of Khassa, another vizier, and covets her, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-first Night Unknown

Visually similar

The pious man’s wife offers the seven-colored bird as food to her lover, but not finding its head, he breaks the pot and bowl in anger, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-second Night
The pious man’s wife offers the seven-colored bird as food to her lover, but not finding its head, he breaks the pot and bowl in anger, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-second Night Unknown
The prince and Nikfal are joined by Khalis and the Mukhlis who are the grateful snake and frog in human form, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night
The prince and Nikfal are joined by Khalis and the Mukhlis who are the grateful snake and frog in human form, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night Unknown
The suitors take the devotee’s daughter out of her tomb after breaking it open, when the physician discovers she is still alive, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twentieth Night
The suitors take the devotee’s daughter out of her tomb after breaking it open, when the physician discovers she is still alive, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twentieth Night Unknown
Khusrau, the King of Kings, pays homage to the pious daughter of Khassa, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-first Night
Khusrau, the King of Kings, pays homage to the pious daughter of Khassa, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-first Night Unknown

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