The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 6, 2026

A vertically oriented page of warm, light-brown paper features thirteen horizontal rows of flowing black ink calligraphy. The script displays elegant, sweeping strokes of varying thicknesses, with occasional characters tucked above the main lines. Scattered dark spots and signs of age mottle the paper's surface. A thin gold border frames the text, further enclosed by narrow red and blue lines running near the outer 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=06 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.233.a