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The prince rejects the amorous advances of the king’s handmaiden, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night

Unknown

1560

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance

Dominant colour

The prince rejects the amorous advances of the king’s handmaiden, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth 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 prince turns away from a woman in a bright orange sari, his face set in cold disapproval. She kneels, hands pressed together, pleading with her eyes while he looks past her, unmoved. This tiny painting once illustrated a story told night after night—like a medieval TV episode. The prince’s silence isn’t just rude; it’s dangerous. The woman’s lie later gets him sentenced to death, all because he refused her. The artist packed drama into every fold of fabric and flicker of expression. Look up more paintings from mughal india, court of akbar (reigned 1556–1605) to see how artists brought these tales to life.

The story of this work

Overview

Once the handmaiden got the prince to her rooms, she suggested they have an affair and professed her secret feelings for him. He rebuffed her in silence and departed, disgusted. Insulted and afraid of what the prince might tell the king, she accused the prince of having attempted to rape her. The king then sentenced the prince to death. The handmaiden wears an Indian sari, consisting of an orange printed wrapped skirt secured with a sash, a short red blouse, and a long diaphanous scarf worn over her head. The prince is dressed in the Central Asian tunic and pants customarily worn by the…