The merchant returns bringing a young slave who is really the son of the princess of Rum, now married to the king, 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 king on a throne, a merchant kneeling, and a young man in fine clothes standing between them. A woman watches from a high window, her face tight with worry. This painting tells a secret story from a book of parrot tales. The young man is really the king’s stepson, smuggled in as a slave to hide his royal blood. The artist packed the scene with tiny clues—embroidered robes, jeweled turban ornaments—that show off the wealth of Akbar’s court. To see more stories like this, look up Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605).
