Artwork Page for The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twenty-second Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)

Details / Information for The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twenty-second Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)

The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twenty-second Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)

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: 10.1 x 9.8 cm (4 x 3 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.154.a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The parrot’s story is set in Kerman, a province of southeast Iran.

Description

On the 22nd night after her husband’s departure, the parrot advises his mistress Kujastha that when she meets her lover that night she should use her best judgment and manners and not allow herself to be laughed at like the wife of the amir, a local ruler. When Khujasta asked about what happened to her, the parrot related a story about the amir, his jester, and their unfaithful wives. This artist continued to use flat planes of colors and patterns characteristic of Indian painting before the Mughals. Experimentation with techniques to indicate depth and spatial recession––a new trend early in the reign of Akbar––can be seen in the tilted planes of the birdcage and the shading at the edges of the doorways.
A manuscript page features black calligraphy framing a tempera painting of two women with light-tan skin. Before an ornate blue building with white domes and red columns, one woman in patterned robes gestures toward a green parrot in a red cage on the left. Beside her, a figure holds a feathered fan. The scene, set against a bright blue sky, is filled with decorative geometric patterns on the architecture and flooring.

The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twenty-second Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)

c. 1560

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

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