The prince meets a carefree dancing dervish whose good fortune he purchases for his ring, 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: 6.9 × 10.5 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession Number
1962.279.131.b
About this artwork
The prince, in the orange tunic, had been exiled by his older brother who inherited the throne, so he decided to travel the country. In a wilderness he met a dancing dervish to whom wild animals seemed mystically drawn; the deer are unconcerned about the tiger nearby. Dervishes are Sufi holy men whose dances bring them closer to god, but in this ironic story, the dervish dances for joy, because he just perceived an omen that he was about to become rich. The prince handed him his signet ring in e...