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. The work is a painted page from the Persian manuscript known as the Tales of a Parrot (Tuti‑nama).
About this work
Overview
The work is a painted page from the Persian manuscript known as the Tales of a Parrot (Tuti‑nama). It presents a single folio that combines illustration and text, showing a gathering of figures around a central person amid elaborate decorative motifs.
Subject & Meaning
The scene depicts a group assembled before a focal individual, suggesting a narrative moment from the collection of stories. The presence of an unreadable script adds an element of mystery, inviting viewers to contemplate the tale being recounted.
Technique & Style
Executed with vivid pigments, the composition relies on dominant blues, reds and yellows, while gold leaf highlights accentuate ornamental patterns in the background. The intricate designs reflect the manuscript’s decorative tradition, emphasizing both visual richness and textual function.
Context
Tuti‑nama manuscripts were popular in the Persianate world for their illustrated storytelling. This page exemplifies the integration of text and image typical of such works, where lavish coloration and gilding underscore the cultural value placed on literary art.
Artist & collection
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
The old man eats of the fruit of the Tree of Life, but drops dead, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night
The handmaiden again pleads for the death of the prince, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The young prince recounts his experiences to his father, the king, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
The marriage of ‘Ubaid, son of a merchant of Tirmiz, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-second Night
Mahrusa’s marriage to the prefect of the city, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-sixth Night
The prince sent back to the place of execution for the sixth time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth 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 merchant has the hateful skull ground and put into a box, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-third Night