The magician, disguised as a Brahman, visits the king of Babylon, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-fifth Night
Unknown Artist
c. 1560
Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
20.3 × 14 cm · painting only: 12.5 × 10.1 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession Number
1962.279.232.b
About this artwork
The king of Babylon, seated on a throne, receives the Brahman in the form of a woman and the magician in the form of a Brahman. The king agrees to keep the woman (the transformed Brahman) temporarily in his harem as a favor to the Brahman (the disguised magician). Scholars have identified this image as a portrait of Akbar, the third Mughal emperor of India, and the commissioner of this manuscript. He is thought to be identifying himself as the king of Babylon, regarded in the Islamic world as an...