Artwork Page for The tale of the three men trapped in a cave by a rolling boulder, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night

Details / Information for The tale of the three men trapped in a cave by a rolling boulder, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night

The tale of the three men trapped in a cave by a rolling boulder, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night

c. 1560

attributed to Bihzad

(Persian, active in India mid-1500s)
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Culture
Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)
Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Measurements
Overall: 20 x 13.3 cm (7 7/8 x 5 1/4 in.); Painting only: 11.1 x 10.2 cm (4 3/8 x 4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.215.a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

This painting is attributed to Bihzad, the son of Abd al-Samad the Persian master of the Mughal court.

Description

Three men kneel in the bowels of a dark cave where they have been trapped while seeking hidden treasure. Fearful and desperate, they suddenly hear a disembodied voice that orders them to confess their transgressions. As each man speaks, a portion of the boulder disappears, and they are ultimately freed.
A book page features Persian script in the upper third and a painting in the lower two-thirds depicting three men with light skin tones seated in a cave surrounded by undulating light blue and pink rock formations. They face our left, hands gesturing toward a brown boulder blocking the exit of the cave. One wears a red robe speckled with gold, another yellow, and the last light blue. Trees speckle the landscape.

The tale of the three men trapped in a cave by a rolling boulder, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night

c. 1560

Bihzad

(Persian, active in India mid-1500s)
Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

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