
Collection Online as of January 28, 2021
Part of a set. See all set records
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 9.5 x 10.1 cm (3 3/4 x 4 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.68.b
not on view
In order to preempt the accusations of her father-in-law, the clever wife brought her husband to the same location and slept with him there. When her father-in-law then confronted his son, telling him that he caught his wife in bed with a man by the side of the canal and had her anklet to prove it, the husband simply laughed and said that the man was he, himself. In this manner the clever woman did not get caught in her adultery. The vizier's story convinced the king to doubt the word of his handmaiden and stay the execution of his son. The handmaiden, hearing this, appealed to the king to defend her honor, and he again sent the prince to be executed, at which time the next vizier tells the story of another mendacious woman.