Artwork
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This illuminated page belongs to a manuscript of the Persian narrative *Tales of a Parrot*.
About this work
Overview
This illuminated page belongs to a manuscript of the Persian narrative *Tales of a Parrot*. The miniature occupies a modest space beneath a line of Arabic calligraphy, presenting a vivid tableau that combines text and image in a single folio.
Subject & Meaning
The scene depicts a richly adorned elephant, its back supporting a small red-and-gold pavilion. Adjacent to the animal, two figures sit on a patterned mat; one holds an open book, suggesting a moment of storytelling or scholarly exchange. The surrounding green foliage and clear blue sky frame the gathering as a tranquil, perhaps allegorical, setting.
Technique & Style
Executed in miniature painting tradition, the composition relies on bright pigments and gold leaf to highlight the elephant’s saddle and the garments of the seated figures. Delicate brushwork renders the forest backdrop, while the patterned textiles display intricate geometric designs characteristic of Persian courtly art.
History & Provenance
The page is part of a larger illustrated manuscript produced for an elite patron, likely in the Safavid period when such narrative books flourished. It now forms part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection, acquired through the museum’s ongoing efforts to preserve Persian manuscript art.
Context
*Tales of a Parrot* is a collection of moral and romantic stories that circulated widely across the Islamic world. Miniatures like this one served both decorative and didactic purposes, reinforcing the narrative while showcasing the patron’s wealth and taste for luxurious visual culture.
Artist & collection
The mendicant’s wife deceives him with a soldier, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fourth Night
As punishment, the jester’s wife and the Zangi are thrown into fire and the emir’s wife and the mahout are trampled by an elephant, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot), Twenty-second Night
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-third night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
The daughter of the merchant of Mazanderan asks the gardener for the rose, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twelfth Night
Kaiwan sends a message of love to Khurshid, wife of his brother Utarid who is away on a journey, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night
The monkey advises the suspicious lion to cast off fear and take possession of his territory, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-ninth Night
The king plucks fruit from the Tree of Life with his own hands and feeds it to a lady, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night
The Brahman gambler sees the daughter of the king of the jinns in a pit together with an old man and a cauldron of boiling oil, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot: Seventh Night)