Artwork Page for The invention of musical instruments from the intestines of a monkey, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fourteenth Night

Details / Information for The invention of musical instruments from the intestines of a monkey, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fourteenth Night

The invention of musical instruments from the intestines of a monkey, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fourteenth Night

c. 1560

Mughal India, court of Akbar

(reigned 1556–1605)
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Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Measurements
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 9.7 x 10.2 cm (3 13/16 x 4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.108.b
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The rebab-player sits on the left, while the vina-player is on the right.

Description

A monkey has been disemboweled while jumping from tree to tree. Once the intestine dried, a wise man attached it to a stick and a gourd, creating the first instrument. Instruments developed from this, called the rebab and the vina, are held by the musicians who sit beneath the trees.
A vertically oriented gum tempera and ink painting depicts two musicians with medium skin tones playing instruments on a decorative blue rug. On our left, a man in an orange robe plays a lute; on our right, a man in light blue plays a long, gourd-adorned instrument. They sit before a pink landscape under stylized trees and tall cypresses. A brown monkey perches above. Five lines of Persian script fill the upper page.

The invention of musical instruments from the intestines of a monkey, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fourteenth Night

c. 1560

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

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