Artwork Page for The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-ninth night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-Ninth Night

Details / Information for The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-ninth night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-Ninth Night

The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-ninth night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-Ninth 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: 8.8 x 10 cm (3 7/16 x 3 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.311.a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The original underdrawing is visible where the paint has flaked from Khujasta’s face.

Description

On the forty-ninth of fifty-two nights, Tuti the wise, talking parrot tells Khujasta a moralizing story about three brothers, two of whom aged prematurely, while the third remained young. The story lasts until sunrise, and Khujasta is unable to leave to visit her lover.
A vertical manuscript page features bands of Persian script above and below a painting of a woman with light skin tone gesturing toward a green parrot on our right. She wears a blue top and orange skirt before a thatched structure patterned with yellow and green. The parrot sits atop an open cage against a red brick wall. A gold and red border frames the composition, highlighting the vibrant colors and flattened planes.

The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-ninth night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-Ninth Night

c. 1560

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

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