A woman with two children, having abandoned her home, goes into the forest where she encounters a leopard, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirtieth Night
Unknown Artist
c. 1560
Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
20.3 × 14 cm · painting only: 15.6 × 10.2 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession Number
1962.279.200.b
About this artwork
A woman described as ill-tempered and quarrelsome was beaten by her husband, so she fled with her children into the wilderness. A fearsome leopard approached them, hoping to carry the children away for a meal. Thinking quickly, the woman offered the leopard one of her children and half of her own body, stating that a lion has staked claim to the other half. Fearing rivalry with the lion, the leopard quickly fled. The gold sky and arid landscape in shades of pink and blue derive from painting sty...