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Feb 25, 2022

Oct 24, 2011

Seven men disputing possession of a woman bring her before the Tree of Justice into which she is absorbed, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Sixth Night

c. 1560

Part of a set. See all set records

Mughal India, court of Akbar

(reigned 1556–1605)

Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

Painting only: 10.4 x 9.8 cm (4 1/8 x 3 7/8 in.); Overall: 20 x 14.3 cm (7 7/8 x 5 5/8 in.)

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.42.a

Location

242B Indian Painting

Did you know?

A few tools, such as a hammer and an axe, designate the men’s professions.

Description

Talking trees that predict the future or administer justice recur in medieval Indo-Iranian literature. Here, the blossoming Tree of Justice settled a dispute. Seven different men wanted to marry a woman who had been carved as a wooden statue by the carpenter (lower right in red) and brought to life by the holy man (lower left in green). A sliver of the woman’s body is seen merging with the trunk. The Tree of Justice decided to absorb her, and as she disappeared the tree proclaimed: “Everything must revert to its own origin.”

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. 94

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, 93

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. 42–47

Seyller, John. “Overpainting in the Cleveland T̤ūtīnāma.” Artibus Asiae 52, no. 3/4 (1992): 283-318. p. 310 www.jstor.org

Exhibition history

Nature Supernatural (Indian Painting rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 22, 2023-March 3, 2024).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Seven men disputing possession of a woman bring her before the Tree of Justice into which she is absorbed, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Sixth Night|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.42.a|year=c. 1560|access-date=30 September 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Seven men disputing possession of a woman bring her before the Tree of Justice into which she is absorbed, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Sixth Night

Seven men disputing possession of a woman bring her before the Tree of Justice into which she is absorbed, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Sixth Night

Mughal India, court of Akbar

Location

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Description

Provenance Footnotes

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