Artwork
The infant son of the king of Isfahan responds to music, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirteenth Night
The infant son of the king of Isfahan responds to music, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirteenth Night is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
The work, titled *The infant son of the king of Isfahan responds to music, from a Tuti‑nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirteenth Night*, is a miniature painting that captures a lively interior scene inside a tent. A central figure in a yellow garment sits cross‑legged, holding a small book and a cross‑shaped instrument, while a crowd of vividly dressed men and women surround him, some playing music, others gesturing or conversing.
Subject & Meaning
The composition illustrates a narrative episode from the medieval Persian collection *Tuti‑nama*, in which the young prince of Isfahan reacts to a musical performance. The seated scholar‑like figure appears to be explaining a lesson, suggested by the book and the peculiar cross‑topped tool, implying a didactic moment that blends education with entertainment for the royal child.
Technique & Style
Executed in the traditional Persian miniature manner, the painting employs fine brushwork and a rich palette of reds, blues, greens, and golds. Delicate linear patterns line the tent walls, and the figures are rendered with stylized proportions and intricate costume details, characteristic of Safavid court art that balances ornamental surface treatment with narrative clarity.
History & Provenance
The piece is part of a larger illustrated manuscript of the *Tuti‑nama*, a popular literary work that circulated in Persian courts from the 14th to 17th centuries. Though the exact date of this particular miniature is not specified, its stylistic traits align with Safavid-era production, and it now resides in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Context
The *Tuti‑nama* combined moral instruction with entertaining stories, often featuring animals and royal figures. This scene reflects the cultural emphasis on music and scholarly instruction within the royal household, illustrating how courtly education was presented as a communal, multisensory experience for both children and adults.
Artist & collection
The young prince recounts his experiences to his father, the king, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The king gives his daughter in marriage to the pious man’s son, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-second Night
The court of the Raja of Ujjain, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-sixth Night
The marriage of ‘Ubaid, son of a merchant of Tirmiz, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-second Night
The Raja’s son vows to sever his head and offer it to the image if he is united with the princess he has seen in the temple, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-fourth Night
