The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

The king of the Ocean, having assumed human form, arrives at the court of the Raja, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eleventh Night

The king of the Ocean, having assumed human form, arrives at the court of the Raja, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eleventh Night

c. 1560
(Indian, active 1550s-1590s)
Overall: 20 x 14.7 cm (7 7/8 x 5 13/16 in.); Painting only: 11.5 x 10.3 cm (4 1/2 x 4 1/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The umbrella over the seat at the right marks the throne of the Raja.

Description

His hands raised in a gesture of respectful greeting, the Raja got down from his throne to welcome the king of the ocean, wearing a crown with white flowers. At the left, the Brahman holds a rosary in his hands. The raja wears the clothing and turban favored by Emperor Akbar: fine white muslin tunic with long points, pants, and a ready-tied flat turban. The king of the ocean is dressed like the Brahman, with a wrapped lower garment called a dhoti, and he wears a sacred thread over his left shoulder, which is the mark of a high-born Hindu.
  • ?–1959
    Estate of Breckinridge Long [1881–1958], Bowie, MD
    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
    1 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. 110
    Chandra, Pramod, and Daniel J. Ehnbom. The Cleveland Tuti-Nama Manuscript and the Origins of Mughal Painting. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976. pp. 78, 110
  • Animal Fables of India (Indian art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 12-August 29, 2021).
  • {{cite web|title=The king of the Ocean, having assumed human form, arrives at the court of the Raja, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eleventh Night|url=false|author=Ghulam 'Ali|year=c. 1560|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.92.a