The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 19, 2026

A vertically oriented book page depicts horizontal registers filled with figures wearing vibrant orange, blue, and yellow robes. At the top, a woman sits near three infants in cradles beneath rows of text. In the center, men cluster on a floral carpet, some holding books and others gesturing. Musicians play drums, a flute, and a tambourine across the foreground. The scene is rendered with saturated colors, patterns, and figures with varying skin tones.

The infant son of the king of Isfahan responds to music, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirteenth Night

c. 1560

Mughal India, court of Akbar

(reigned 1556–1605)
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 20 x 14.1 cm (7 7/8 x 5 9/16 in.); Painting only: 12.4 x 10.1 cm (4 7/8 x 4 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.105.a
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The instruments played include a tambourine, drum, and cymbals.

Description

A group of musicians play a variety of instruments in hopes of eliciting a reaction from the young prince. The prince, dressed in orange, sits up in his crib to acknowledge the sound while the other children remain asleep. His eager response to the music shows that he is a noble child who will become a great king.
  • ?–1959
    Estate of Breckinridge Long [1881–1958], Bowie, MD
    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
    1 Samuel 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.
  • 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, 113
    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. 97–101
    Seyller, John. “Overpainting in the Cleveland T̤ūtīnāma.” Artibus Asiae 52, no. 3/4 (1992): 283-318. p. 314 www.jstor.org
  • {{cite web|title=The infant son of the king of Isfahan responds to music, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirteenth Night|url=false|author=|year=c. 1560|access-date=19 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.105.a