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The young man of Baghdad solicits advice from a friend as his slave girl, who is adept at music, awaits, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-eighth Night

Unknown

1560

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Mughal Painting Renaissance Renaissance

Dominant colour

The young man of Baghdad solicits advice from a friend as his slave girl, who is adept at music, awaits, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-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

You see a young man in a turban talking to a friend while a woman with a harp waits behind them. The room is small, with patterned carpets and soft light. This painting comes from a book of parrot tales told in Mughal India. The stories were meant to entertain and teach lessons—here, a man who wasted his money now faces a tough choice. The artist used bright colors and fine details to show the fabrics and expressions. To see more art like this, look up *mughal india, court of akbar (reigned 1556–1605)*.

The story of this work

Overview

The young man, on the right, shares his problem with his friend. His lover, the slave girl, waits in the background, harp in hand. The man has squandered his riches and now seeks a way to earn them back. His friend suggests that he should become a musician and entertain nobility. Finding this advice degrading, the young man declines and decides to sell the girl.