The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
The parrot laughs on hearing the Raja of Ujjain’s wife admire her beauty in a mirror, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot: Forty-sixth Night
c. 1560
(reigned 1556–1605)
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 13.3 x 9.8 cm (5 1/4 x 3 7/8 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.292.b
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
The mirror that the raja’s wife is holding is painted with silver and would have once looked reflective but has since tarnished.Description
The raja’s wife claims to be the most beautiful woman in the world. The parrot laughs at her arrogance and tells them of a girl living in an underground kingdom whose beauty is incomparable. From the parrot’s words alone, the raja becomes obsessed with the girl and leaves to seek her company.- ?–1959Estate of Breckinridge Long [1881–1958], Bowie, MD1959–1962?(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, OHProvenance Footnotes1 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, 145
- Yoga: The Art of Transformation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 22-September 7, 2014).
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Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.292.b