Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page

The calligraphy displays meticulous, uniform lettering, with occasional larger or underlined words to highlight key passages. The ink is applied with a fine brush, producing crisp, evenly spaced strokes. The red border, likely added with pigment or ink, serves both decorative and functional purposes, framing the text.

Created in the Mughal period, the folio remained within the royal collection before eventually entering the holdings of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The museum now preserves the page as part of its South Asian manuscript collection, allowing scholars and visitors to examine its material qualities.

Manuscript production in Mughal India often combined Persian literary traditions with local artistic conventions. *Tales of a Parrot* reflects this synthesis, offering a secular narrative intended for elite audiences, distinct from the religious texts that dominated earlier manuscript commissions.