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Apr 19, 2011

The lion disturbed by mice who eat the food trapped in his aging teeth, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night

c. 1560

Part of a set. See all set records

India, Mughal court, 16th century

Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 7.7 x 10.1 cm (3 1/16 x 4 in.)

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.113.a

Location

not on view

Did you know?

This story takes place in China

Description

In a scene that was overpainted to suit the taste of the emperor Akbar for soft modeling and a naturalistic sky, a tiger lies in a pink clearing, while mice run around him to pick at his teeth. The artist has depicted a tiger instead of a lion, the two often being interchangeable in Indian art. In the story, the lion had grown old and suffered from cavities, into which his food would get stuck. Mice would come and feed on those morsels between his teeth and disturb his sleep.

Provenance

?–1959

Estate of Breckinridge Long [1881–1958], Bowie, MD ¹

1959–1962?

(Harry Burke Antiques, Philadelphia, PA)

1959?–1962

(Bernard Brown Agency, Milwaukee, WI, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Purchased with funds from Mrs. A. Dean [Helen Wade Greene] Perry)

1962–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Provenance Footnotes

¹Samuel Miller Breckinridge Long (May 16, 1881–September 26, 1958) was an American diplomat and politician, who served in the administrations of Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Long is largely remembered for his obstructionist role as the Assistant Secretary of State responsible for granting refugee visas during World War II. His interests included the collection of antiques, paintings and American ship models. He maintained a stable of Thoroughbred race horses and was a director of the Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland, and he enjoyed fox hunting, fishing, and sailing.

Citations

Chandra, Pramod, and Daniel J. Ehnbom. The Cleveland Tuti-Nama Manuscript and the Origins of Mughal Painting. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976. p. 115

Chandra, Pramod, and Daniel J. Ehnbom. The Cleveland Tuti-Nama Manuscript and the Origins of Mughal Painting. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976. pp. 79, 115

Nakhshabī, Z̤iyāʼ al-Dīn, and Muhammed Ahmed Simsar, translator and editor. Tales of a Parrot = The Cleveland Museum of Art's Ṭūṭīnāma. Cleveland, OH: The Museum, 1978. pp. 107–111

Seyller, John. “Overpainting in the Cleveland T̤ūtīnāma.” Artibus Asiae 52, no. 3/4 (1992): 283-318. p. 314

Exhibition history

Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 2, 2014-January 5, 2015).

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{{cite web|title=The lion disturbed by mice who eat the food trapped in his aging teeth, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.113.a|year=c. 1560|access-date=26 September 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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The lion disturbed by mice who eat the food trapped in his aging teeth, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night

The lion disturbed by mice who eat the food trapped in his aging teeth, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night

India, Mughal court, 16th century

Location

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Description

Provenance Footnotes

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