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The monkey advises the suspicious lion to cast off fear and take possession of his territory, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth Night

Unknown

1560

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance Allegory

Dominant colour

The monkey advises the suspicious lion to cast off fear and take possession of his territory, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth 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 monkey whispering to a nervous lion while a family of lynx lurks in the background. The monkey holds a scroll, pointing toward the cave where the lynx have taken over the lion’s home. This painting comes from a book of parrot tales made for Emperor Akbar’s court. The story warns about fear and trickery—here, the monkey tries to help the lion reclaim his land, but the lion is too scared to act. To see more art like this, look up the subject *Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)*.

The story of this work

Overview

The monkey, acting as the lion’s chamberlain, encourages him to confront the family of lynx that have taken over his home. However, the lion is fearful, having been tricked into believing that the hidden lynx are vicious, lion-eating creatures.