The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twelfth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
20.3 × 14 cm · painting only: 9.1 × 10.3 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession Number
1962.279.95.a
Tags
About this artwork
Every night for 52 nights the sly domesticated parrot encourages his master's wife Khujasta to meet her lover under cover of darkness. Just before she leaves, he mentions a topic from a tantalizing tale; she becomes so curious that she cannot go out before hearing the whole story. By the time the story ends, dawn breaks, and it is too late for her to go out unnoticed. The gold sky and geometric tile patterns are derived from Persian sources while Khujasta's figure shown in profile and style of d...