The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of February 7, 2023

Preparation for the marriage of Mahmuda to the Young Vizier, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-third Night

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: 16.3 x 10.2 cm (6 7/16 x 4 in.)

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.219.b

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Mahmuda’s name means “praised” or “blessed.”

Description

In the lower register of this bustling scene, musicians play in celebration of the impending wedding. Above, the betrothed couple sits at the right. Although Mahmuda was happily engaged to her childhood sweetheart, Ayaz, the young vizier wanted her for himself. Mahmuda’s father, the grand vizier, agrees to the arrangement. Heartbroken, Ayaz believes he has lost Mahmuda forever.

Provenance
Estate of Breckenridge Long, Bowie, MD, 1959; Harry Burke Antiques, Philadelphia, PA; Bernard Brown, Milwaukee, WI;
Citations
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, 134
Nakhshabī, Z̤iyāʼ al-Dīn, and Muhammed Ahmed Simsar. Tales of a Parrot = The Cleveland Museum of Art's Ṭūṭīnāma. Cleveland: The Museum, 1978. p. 213, n. 249
Exhibition history

Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115); August 13, 2003 - February 18, 2004.

Indian Minature Rotation (Gallery 115); August 18, 2004 -

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.219.b