The husband berates his wife for purchasing gravel instead of sugar, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth 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 yelling at his wife while she holds a bag of gravel. A servant stands nearby, looking nervous. The room is small, with patterned walls and bright colors. This painting comes from a book of stories told by a parrot to keep its owner from sneaking out at night. The wife in the story just got caught cheating—but she lies so well her husband believes her. The artist made the scene feel real, even though it’s fiction. To see more art like this, look up Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605).
