The parrot mother cautions her young on the danger of playing with foxes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

The parrot mother cautions her young on the danger of playing with foxes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night

c. 1560

Dasavanta

(Indian, d. 1584)

Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 10 x 10.5 cm (3 15/16 x 4 1/8 in.)

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.32.a

Location: not on view

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Did You Know?

A fox cub suckles contentedly, as the mother keeps a sharp eye on the others.

Description

One night the parrot Tuti tells Khujasta that he hopes her relationship with her new lover does not wind up being only half-baked, like the medical treatment of the king of Kamarupa. She asks what that was about, and Tuti begins the story by telling of a mother parrot who lived in the forest with her young, who liked to play with the fox cubs who lived at the base of the tree. The mother parrot is perched on the edge of her treetop nest.