The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

The prince meets a carefree dancing dervish whose good fortune he purchases for his ring, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night

The prince meets a carefree dancing dervish whose good fortune he purchases for his ring, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night

c. 1560
(reigned 1556–1605)
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 6.9 x 10.5 cm (2 11/16 x 4 1/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The animals in the wilderness include a tiger, two does, and a blackbuck.

Description

The prince, in the orange tunic, had been exiled by his older brother who inherited the throne, so he decided to travel the country. In a wilderness he met a dancing dervish to whom wild animals seemed mystically drawn; the deer are unconcerned about the tiger nearby. Dervishes are Sufi holy men whose dances bring them closer to god, but in this ironic story, the dervish dances for joy, because he just perceived an omen that he was about to become rich. The prince handed him his signet ring in exchange for the dervish’s good fortune.
  • ?–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.
  • Seyller, John. “Overpainting in the Cleveland T̤ūtīnāma.” Artibus Asiae 52, no. 3/4 (1992): 283-318. p. 315 www.jstor.org
    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.
  • Animal Fables of India (Indian art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 12-August 29, 2021).
    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.
  • {{cite web|title=The prince meets a carefree dancing dervish whose good fortune he purchases for his ring, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night|url=false|author=|year=c. 1560|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
    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.

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.131.b