The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-sixth 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
A woman in a blue dress stands in a courtyard, listening to a green parrot perched on a stand. Bright flowers and patterned tiles fill the space around them. This painting comes from a book of stories told over fifty-two nights. The parrot keeps the woman from sneaking out by spinning tales of love and loss—like a Mughal-era soap opera. The details are tiny but sharp, from the folds in her dress to the feathers on the bird. If you like this, look up *Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)*.
