Artwork Page for The king places the talisman on his sleeping wife, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fiftieth Night

Details / Information for The king places the talisman on his sleeping wife, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fiftieth Night

The king places the talisman on his sleeping wife, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fiftieth 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: 11 x 10.8 cm (4 5/16 x 4 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.323.a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The king believes that the talisman is made of King Solomon’s amulets.

Description

The king, believing that his wife has carried on an affair with a slave, acquires a talisman that will make her tell the truth. She reveals that the young man is not her lover, but her son from a former marriage. In reality, the talisman is not magic but is instead part of a plan to prove the wife’s innocence.
A vertically oriented gum tempera and ink painting on a book page features Persian script in the upper and lower sections. Within a red-roofed pavilion, a light-skinned man in a yellow tunic and blue trousers leans toward a woman lying under a bright orange coverlet. The bearded man holds a small object over her. The structure sits on a brick platform against a grey background with patterns and gold highlights.

The king places the talisman on his sleeping wife, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fiftieth Night

c. 1560

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

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