The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 14, 2024

Habbaza’s sister, who is sent to console her, discovers the disguised Arab in her place, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-fourth Night

Habbaza’s sister, who is sent to console her, discovers the disguised Arab in her place, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-fourth Night

c. 1560
(reigned 1556–1605)
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 11.3 x 10.1 cm (4 7/16 x 4 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.170.b
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The tents in the arid landscape evoke the Bedouin community of the Arabian Peninsula.

Description

The man on the left, disguised as Habbaza, has just been badly beaten by Habbaza’s husband. He is the Arab man who has temporarily taken the woman’s place while she visits with her lover. Upon entering the tent to heal her sister’s wounds, Habbaza’s sister quickly discovers the ruse and begins an affair of her own.
  • ?–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, 125
  • {{cite web|title=Habbaza’s sister, who is sent to console her, discovers the disguised Arab in her place, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-fourth Night|url=false|author=|year=c. 1560|access-date=14 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.170.b