The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Shahr-Arai and her husband adopt her lover as a brother in the family, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth Night

Shahr-Arai and her husband adopt her lover as a brother in the family, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth 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: 9.1 x 10.2 cm (3 9/16 x 4 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.262.a
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

A lack of facial hair signals the lover’s youth.

Description

Shahr-Arai and her husband sit together on the right, offering food to Shah-Arai’s lover. She has successfully tricked her gullible husband, and he gladly welcomes the young man into their household. From this point on, the three live happily together—the husband never uncovering the truth of Shah-Arai’s deception.
  • ?–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, 141
  • {{cite web|title=Shahr-Arai and her husband adopt her lover as a brother in the family, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth Night|url=false|author=|year=c. 1560|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.262.a