The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 28, 2026

A vertically oriented sheet of aged tan paper features thirteen lines of slanted black ink calligraphy. This gum tempera and ink work is enclosed within thin gold and orange border lines. Fluid characters are marked by elongated horizontal strokes and scattered black dots. A small blue smudge sits near the top center, while irregular brownish stains mark the bottom edge. Tiny characters are added in the top and bottom margins.

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

c. 1560
(reigned 1556–1605)
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.)
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=28 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.195.b