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The king’s handmaiden takes the prince away to the harem, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night

Unknown

1560

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance

Dominant colour

The king’s handmaiden takes the prince away to the harem, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth 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 woman in a bright sari leading a young prince by the hand while a king and his advisors watch from a throne. The room is small, crowded with patterned carpets and gold details. This scene comes from a book of parrot tales told to a queen to delay her from meeting her lover. The story here is a trick: the king sends his shy son to the harem, hoping he’ll loosen up. The artist made the prince look nervous, his feet pointed away like he’s being pulled. Look up more paintings of mughal india, court of akbar (reigned 1556–1605) to see how royal life was pictured.

The story of this work

Overview

An infatuated handmaiden, wearing a sari and veil, leads the young prince away from the seated king. The king and his viziers have agreed to send the prince to the harem in hopes that he will speak in a more relaxed environment.