The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 18, 2026

A vertically oriented cream paper features twelve lines of flowing black calligraphy slanting downward. One word in the second line stands out in red ink. The elegant characters vary in thickness, ink occasionally thinning as they curve across the aged, flecked surface. A thin red and gold border frames the text. The rhythmic script creates a dense pattern of loops and strokes that stretches across the rectangular composition.

Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page

c. 1560

Mughal India, court of Akbar

(reigned 1556–1605)
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.157.a
Location: Not on view
  • ?–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.
  • {{cite web|title=Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page|url=false|author=|year=c. 1560|access-date=18 June 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.157.a