The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-ninth night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-Ninth Night
1560
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1560
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
A woman in a green robe sits on a carpet, listening to a bright green parrot perched on a stand. Behind them, a servant holds a fan. The scene glows with gold and deep reds. This painting comes from a book of parrot tales told over fifty-two nights. Each night, the parrot delays the woman’s secret meeting by spinning a new story. The tiny details—embroidered flowers, the parrot’s curled claws—show how much care went into every page. To see more paintings like this, look up *Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)*.
