Open full image Pin

The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-first night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-first Night

Unknown

1560

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance

Dominant colour

The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-first night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-first 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

A woman in a green dress sits on the floor, listening to a bright green parrot perched on top of a gold cage. Behind them, a servant fans the air with a long-handled screen. This painting comes from a book of stories told by a parrot to a lonely wife. Each night, the parrot delays her from meeting her lover by spinning a new tale. The tiny details—embroidered slippers, the parrot’s ruffled feathers—show how carefully Mughal artists worked, even on small pages. To see more of these delicate miniatures, look up Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605).

The story of this work

Overview

On the forty-first of fifty-two nights, Khujasta consults Tuti the parrot for advice on how to balance her lover’s wishes with her vow of marriage. Tuti, perched atop his cage, responds by telling her a story about a donkey who was punished for singing too brazenly.