Artwork
The rejuvenated old man and the daughter of the king of the jinns take leave of the King of Kings, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Seventh Night

The rejuvenated old man and the daughter of the king of the jinns take leave of the King of Kings, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Seventh Night is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work depicts a lively rooftop encounter among four figures, rendered in vivid colors and intricate detailing.
About this work
History & Provenance
No further details regarding the original commission or intermediate ownership prior to its museum acquisition are provided in the current records.
Created in 1560 within the Mughal Empire, this painting illustrates a scene from the seventh night of the Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot). The work was executed by an artist whose identity remains unrecorded in the available documentation. It resides in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is catalogued under accession number 1962.279.50.b; the museum acquired the piece in 1962.
No further details regarding the original commission or intermediate ownership prior to its museum acquisition are provided in the current records.
Context
The painting is housed in the Cleveland Museum of Art and exemplifies Mughal courtly narrative art of the mid-sixteenth century. Scholarship situates it within the Tuti-nama manuscript tradition, a Persianate literary work translated and illustrated under Mughal patronage. The work reflects the cultural milieu of the Mughal Empire, where illustrated manuscripts combined Persian literary themes with local artistic practices.
Its depiction of a rejuvenated old man and the daughter of a jinn king illustrates the synthesis of literary allegory and royal imagery characteristic of the period, and it has been studied alongside other folios from the same manuscript.
Overview
The work depicts a lively rooftop encounter among four figures, rendered in vivid colors and intricate detailing. Central to the scene is an orange‑clad man seated on a raised platform, his hand joined with a blue‑dressed companion. Flanking them are two women, one in green and red, the other in yellow and green, positioned near a doorway.
The composition is framed by a striped wall, a palm tree, and bands of Arabic calligraphy along the top and bottom margins.
Subject & Meaning
The orange figure, crowned and seated, is identified as the rejuvenated old man, while the blue figure represents the daughter of the king of the jinns. Their departure with the two women suggests a narrative moment of farewell to the King of Kings, drawn from the seventh night of the Persian “Tuti‑nama” (Tales of a Parrot). The scene captures a moment of transition and parting within a mythic storyline.
Technique & Style
Executed in a flat, decorative manner, the painting employs bold, saturated pigments and stylized patterns typical of Persian miniature traditions. The use of linear perspective is minimal; instead, emphasis is placed on ornamental surfaces, intricate clothing folds, and the decorative arabesques that border the image. The composition balances narrative clarity with elaborate visual embellishment.
Artist & collection










