The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-fourth night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)

c. 1560

The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-fourth night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot), c. 1560. Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605). Gum tempera, ink, and gold in paper; overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); painting only: 9.6 x 10.1 cm (3 3/4 x 4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.282.b Standing against a brightly colored landscape, Khujasta consults with Tuti, the clever, talking parrot. He tells her the story of a raja whose children planned to kill him and the musician whose words brought them to their senses. This image is composed of the pale tones that were popular in a pre-Mughal Indo-Persian painting style. The flag at the end of the eave is held in the snout of a Ganges crocodile head.