The forty wives and their secret paramours being punished by stoning to death, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-third Night

The work illustrates a tumultuous gathering of figures rendered in vivid hues of red, blue and gold, set beneath a foreboding dark sky. Arabic calligraphy crowns the composition, indicating its narrative source. The crowded composition, with gestures of reaching, shielding, and distress, conveys a moment of intense drama and collective suffering.

The scene depicts the punishment of a group of women, forty wives and their secret lovers, who are being stoned to death, as recounted in the twenty‑third night of the Persian illustrated manuscript known as the Tuti‑nama, or Tales of a Parrot. The emphasis lies on the emotional intensity of the victims rather than the legal or moral context of the story.

Executed in a miniature painting tradition, the artist employs bold, contrasting pigments that heighten the visual tension. Figures are stylized with exaggerated facial expressions and dynamic postures, while the dense crowd is organized through overlapping forms that create depth within a relatively flat pictorial space.

The Tuti‑nama is a collection of moral tales and fables, often illustrated to accompany poetic verses. This particular episode reflects themes of secrecy, betrayal, and retributive justice common in Persian literary tradition, and the visual treatment aligns with the didactic purpose of the manuscript.