The dervish brings in as dowry an elephant laden with gold, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Seventh Night
Unknown Artist
c. 1560
Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
20.3 × 14 cm · painting only: 4.2 × 9.9 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession Number
1962.279.45.a
About this artwork
The eccentric dervish, wearing a fur cap, a leopard-skin skirt, and chains around his neck, chest, and legs, comes to the king with the very thing the king thought he could never provide: an elephant laden with gold in exchange for the princess’s hand in marriage. The dervish had gone to the magnanimous King of Kings—the overlord of this local king—with his plight: in order to marry the princess, he had to provide an elephant laden with gold as a dowry. The King of Kings, who could not resist a ...