The vizier dissuades the king of Bahilistan from executing the dervish who asks for his daughter’s hand in marriage, 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: 14 × 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
1962.279.44.b
About this artwork
A poor dervish, wearing a fur cap and short brown lower garment, stands captive before the furious king of Bahilistan. Before he can kill the dervish, a vizier reminds him that it is beneath a king to stain his sword with the blood of a mendicant. The dervish is ordered to prove his worth by offering the king’s daughter an elephant laden with gold.