Collection Online as of December 1, 2023

The two cooks, who attempt to seduce the warrior’s loyal wife, are trapped by her in a cellar, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fourth 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

Painting only: 12.6 x 10.4 cm (4 15/16 x 4 1/8 in.); Overall: 20 x 13.6 cm (7 7/8 x 5 3/8 in.)

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.29.a

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

The cellar is represented in cross-section to reveal the scene inside.

Description

This story is about how wives who wish to be faithful will remain so, despite any seduction. This woman’s husband was a soldier, and when he was away on duty for months at a time, his master, the king, was intrigued at his wife’s faithfulness, proven by a magical rose garland that remained eternally fresh. The king wished to test her by sending his two handsome cooks to visit her and attempt to lure her into adultery. She tricked them into coming to her home and getting on a bed made of weak strings, positioned over a pit into which they fell. She kept them prisoner there until the king and her husband came to see what happened.

Provenance

?–1959

Estate of Breckinridge Long [1881–1958], Bowie, MD ¹

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

¹Samuel 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.

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, 87

Seyller, John. “Overpainting in the Cleveland T̤ūtīnāma.” Artibus Asiae 52, no. 3/4 (1992): 283-318. p. 309 www.jstor.org

Exhibition history

Supernatural Love - Indian Gallery 242 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (April 1-September 9, 2019).