Collection Online as of September 29, 2023

The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twenty-fifth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)

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

Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 6.2 x 10.1 cm (2 7/16 x 4 in.)

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.171.b

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Pink sandstone was a favored building material around the region of Delhi and Agra in northern India.

Description

Khujasta stands in front of a porch with a blue arabesque carpet and footed bed. The empty bed speaks to her loneliness and longing for a lover. She is dressed as an Indian woman, with backless blouse, orange wrapped skirt, and a long sash. The pompom fringe of her translucent, muslin stole stands out in a vertical row.

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

Seyller, John. “Overpainting in the Cleveland T̤ūtīnāma.” Artibus Asiae 52, no. 3/4 (1992): 283-318. p. 317 www.jstor.org