The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
The unfaithful wife explaining away the presence of the dough elephant, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
c. 1560
(reigned 1556–1605)
Painting only: 11.5 x 9.9 cm (4 1/2 x 3 7/8 in.); Overall: 20 x 14.4 cm (7 7/8 x 5 11/16 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.62.b
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
The wife wears Indian dress, but the husband wears Central Asian Mughal dress.Description
A woman who has just committed adultery on the way to bring her husband his meal must explain why she fashioned his pastry into the shape of an elephant. She was not aware that her lover’s son had done this, but thinking quickly, she explained that she had a dream that eating the elephant would protect him from danger. He accepts this lie and thanks his wife for her kindness.- ?–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. p. 102Chandra, Pramod, and Daniel J. Ehnbom. The Cleveland Tuti-Nama Manuscript and the Origins of Mughal Painting. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976. pp. 78, 102
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Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.62.b