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

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

The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twenty-seventh Night, form 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
Painting only: 10.5 x 10 cm (4 1/8 x 3 15/16 in.); Overall: 20.1 x 15.3 cm (7 15/16 x 6 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.185.a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Khujasta has been drinking wine—evidenced by the bottles on the low table before her.

Description

Khujasta prepares herself each night to secretly meet her new lover, but before she is able to leave, her pet parrot Tuti cleverly entices her to stay with the tantalizing beginnings of a story. Tuti’s telling of the story takes all night, and by the time he reaches the end, it is too late for her rendezvous. A bowl of paan, areca nuts wrapped in betel leaves, has been set out for chewing, freshening breath, and its various pleasurable effects.
A vertically oriented manuscript leaf is painted with gum tempera and gold, depicting a woman in a striped skirt gesturing toward a parrot in a cage. She stands before stylized, gray hills. To the right, an open building features intricate geometric and floral wall patterns. Rectangular panels of black Persian script frame the scene. Flat perspective and repetitive motifs define the composition, enclosed by a decorative border of delicate red and blue lines.

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

c. 1560

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

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