Artwork
The parrot brings a fruit from the Tree of Life to the king of Syria, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night
The parrot brings a fruit from the Tree of Life to the king of Syria, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work illustrates a scene from the ninth night of the Persian "Tuti-nama" (Tales of a Parrot).
About this work
Overview
A ruler seated beneath a red pavilion holds a green parrot on his wrist, while three attendants in vivid yellow, orange and blue garments stand or kneel nearby.
The work illustrates a scene from the ninth night of the Persian "Tuti-nama" (Tales of a Parrot). A ruler seated beneath a red pavilion holds a green parrot on his wrist, while three attendants in vivid yellow, orange and blue garments stand or kneel nearby. The composition is divided by a bifurcated background: a red field adorned with gold motifs opposite a green area covered by a striped canopy. A flowing inscription crowns the scene, giving it the appearance of an illuminated manuscript page.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is a Syrian king receiving a fruit offered by the parrot, a motif drawn from the legendary Tree of Life narrative in which the bird delivers a sacred fruit to a monarch. The presence of the three attendants emphasizes the ceremonial nature of the exchange, while the parrot functions as a symbolic messenger linking the earthly ruler to divine or mythic realms.
Technique & Style
Executed in miniature painting technique, the piece employs fine brushwork and a limited palette of saturated reds, greens, gold and bright secondary hues. Gold leaf highlights the ornamental patterns on the pavilion, and the delicate calligraphic script above the scene integrates text and image in a manner characteristic of Persian illustrated books of the early modern period.
History & Provenance
The painting was commissioned for Prince Salim, a Safavid-era patron whose name appears in contemporary records, though he is not depicted within the image. The work likely formed part of a larger illustrated manuscript of the Tuti-nama, intended for private enjoyment and as a demonstration of the prince's refined taste for literary and artistic luxuries.
Context
Within the broader tradition of Persian courtly illustration, the scene reflects the synthesis of literary storytelling and visual opulence that defined Safavid patronage. The use of a parrot as a narrative device echoes earlier Islamic manuscript motifs, while the vivid coloration and gold detailing illustrate the period’s emphasis on visual splendor in courtly gifts.
Artist & collection
The magic parrot of the merchant talks to the vizier’s son, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Tenth Night
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 young prince recounts his experiences to his father, the king, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The marriage of ‘Ubaid, son of a merchant of Tirmiz, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-second Night
The king of Bahilistan offers his daughter to the King of Kings, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Seventh Night
The monk returns the magic parrot to its rightful owner, the merchant, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Tenth Night
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-seventh night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
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 Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Eighteenth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
Mahrusa’s marriage to the prefect of the city, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-sixth Night
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
The merchant has the hateful skull ground and put into a box, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-third Night
The handmaiden again pleads for the death of the prince, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night