Artwork
The prince rejects the amorous advances of the king’s handmaiden, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The prince rejects the amorous advances of the king’s handmaiden, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth 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
Details such as the woman's jewelry and the man's turban are rendered with fine brushwork, establishing a visual dialogue between the two figures.
The work portrays an interior scene in which a woman in a red blouse and orange skirt stands centrally, while a man in a pink robe occupies a doorway on the right. The setting includes a blue bed with a yellow canopy and a pink wall patterned with flowers. Details such as the woman's jewelry and the man's turban are rendered with fine brushwork, establishing a visual dialogue between the two figures.
Subject & Meaning
The composition illustrates a moment from the eighth night of a Tuti‑nama, a Persian narrative collection. In this episode, a prince rebuffs the romantic overtures of a royal handmaiden, highlighting themes of courtly restraint and the tension between desire and duty. The spatial separation and contrasting colors underscore the emotional distance between the characters.
Technique & Style
Executed in a miniature painting tradition, the piece employs delicate line work and a vivid palette of pinks, reds, blues, and yellows. The artist applies fine, layered strokes to render textiles, jewelry, and patterned walls, creating a sense of depth within the confined space. Floral motifs on the wall and the intricate turban reflect the decorative conventions of Persian court art.
Context
The painting belongs to the illustrated manuscript genre of the Tuti‑nama, a collection of moral and romantic tales popular in Safavid Persia. Such works were often commissioned for aristocratic patrons and served both as literary entertainment and as exemplars of refined artistic skill. The scene’s focus on a princely figure and a handmaiden reflects the hierarchical relationships explored in the narrative tradition.
Artist & collection
The king’s handmaiden takes the prince away to the harem, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The prince, once reprieved, is returned to the palace of execution a second time on the plea of the king’s handmaiden, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The young prince is crowned and the wicked handmaiden is executed, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The prince sent back to the place of execution for the sixth time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Khalis repays the prince for his kindness by changing into a snake and sucking the poison from the king’s daughter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night
The astrologer predicts a calamity for the newly born prince in his thirteenth year, but one which he would be able to overcome, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The prince being taken away for execution on the false complaint of the handmaiden, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twenty-third Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-seventh night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-seventh Night
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-third night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
The unfaithful wife explaining away the presence of the dough elephant, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night