The painting made by the vizier of the emperor of China for the queen of Rum, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-ninth Night

The work, titled “The painting made by the vizier of the emperor of China for the queen of Rum, from a Tuti‑nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty‑ninth Night,” is an oil painting in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. It presents a layered composition of architectural balconies, figures in vivid robes, and a natural foreground of deer and a solitary tree, rendered in a bright palette of blues, yellows, oranges and greens.

At the center of the scene two men, one clothed in orange, the other in yellow, are seated on a richly ornamented balcony, their gazes directed toward a third figure in a blue robe who gestures from an opposite balcony. Below, a herd of deer ascends a slope, while a lone tree rises in the distance, suggesting a juxtaposition of courtly interaction and untamed landscape, a motif common in narrative illustrations of the Tuti‑nama.

The piece reflects a period of cultural exchange between the Song‑Dynasty court and the Seljuk realms, where literary works were often visualized for elite audiences. Its narrative content aligns with the tradition of illustrated manuscripts that blended courtly etiquette with moral storytelling, while the inclusion of wildlife underscores the era’s appreciation for natural symbolism within artistic commissions.