The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-second night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)

The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-second night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)

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: 8.3 x 10.1 cm (3 1/4 x 4 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.268.a
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The carved door on the left appears to be made of wood.

Description

As the sun sets on the forty-second night Khujasta reproaches Tuti, accusing him of keeping her away from her lover. Tuti responds by telling Khujasta a story about a merchant’s son who similarly received wise advice from a talking parrot. By the time the story ends, it is too late for Khujasta to visit her lover.
  • ?–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, 142
  • {{cite web|title=The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-second night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1560|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.268.a