Khalis repays the prince for his kindness by changing into a snake and sucking the poison from the king’s daughter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night
Unknown Artist
c. 1560
Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
20.3 × 14 cm · painting only: 6.5 × 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
1962.279.136.a
About this artwork
The prince looks on in amazement as his snake companion resumes his original form and saves the life of the princess, who was dying from a poisonous snake bite. The snake owed the prince a favor, since the prince had cut a piece of his own flesh to feed him and his mate. After the girl was restored to health, the prince married her and became viceroy to the king. His three companions, Good Fortune, the snake, and the frog, having fulfilled their obligation, then bid him farewell.