The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-fourth night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
1560
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1560
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a woman in a red dress sitting on a terrace, listening to a green parrot perched on a stand beside her. This painting comes from a book of stories told over fifty-two nights. The parrot distracts Khujasta with tales so she won’t sneak out to meet her lover while her husband is away. The bright colors and fine details show how artists in Akbar’s court blended Persian and Indian styles. To see more art from this time, look up Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605).
