Collection Online as of December 2, 2021
The merchant’s clerk replaces the sugar purchased by the philandering wife with gravel, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
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: 10.5 x 10.2 cm (4 1/8 x 4 in.); Overall: 20 x 14.4 cm (7 7/8 x 5 11/16 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.70.a
Location
not on view
Description
While buying sugar at the market, a woman has an impromptu affair with a merchant. The two lovers embrace in the chamber on the left. Outside the chamber the merchant’s clerk, wearing blue, surreptitiously replaces the adulteress’s sugar with gravel. Unaware of the switch, she will bring the bag of gravel back to her husband, who reacts with surprise and consternation