The guard spares the life of the slave when he learns that he is the son of the princess of the Rum, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fiftieth Night
1560
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1560
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a man kneeling, hands tied, while a guard holds a sword above his head. His turban is unraveled on the ground, and his long hair is messy. A crowd watches in a palace courtyard. This painting tells a story from a book called the *Tuti-nama*, or *Tales of a Parrot*. The king thinks the man is the princess’s lover and orders him killed—but at the last moment, the truth comes out. The guard lowers his sword. To see more art like this, look up Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605).
