Artwork
The deceitful wife assaults her erring husband, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The deceitful wife assaults her erring husband, 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. The work illustrates a lively interior tableau drawn from the eighth night of the Persian manuscript *Tuti‑nama* (Tales of a Parrot).
About this work
Overview
The work illustrates a lively interior tableau drawn from the eighth night of the Persian manuscript *Tuti‑nama* (Tales of a Parrot). Rendered in vivid hues, the scene captures a moment of domestic conflict, with a woman in a striking red garment confronting a seated man who appears startled.
Subject & Meaning
The narrative depicts a deceitful wife confronting her erring husband, a motif common in moralistic Persian storytelling. Supporting figures—one partially unclothed, another in blue—react with surprise or alarm, underscoring the tension and social commentary embedded in the tale.
Technique & Style
Executed in miniature painting tradition, the piece employs intricate decorative borders and a richly patterned wall surface. The artist uses bold coloration and fine line work to delineate figures, while a small balcony with a red‑and‑white canopy hints at an architectural depth beyond the immediate interior.
History & Provenance
The illustration originates from a hand‑copied *Tuti‑nama* manuscript, a popular literary collection in the Persianate world. Though the exact date of the painting is not specified, such works were typically produced between the 15th and 18th centuries for elite patrons.
Context
*Tuti‑nama* served both entertainment and didactic purposes, presenting moral lessons through episodic stories narrated by a parrot. The eighth night’s episode, rendered here, reflects societal concerns about fidelity and the consequences of deception within the household.
Artist & collection
The deceitful wife ejects the procuress after blackening her face, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The deceitful wife persuades her husband to sleep in the same place where she had previously slept with her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The farmer, father of the son with the deceitful wife, steals away with her anklet while she is in bed with her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Shahr-Arai and her lover dallying on a bed beneath which is concealed her husband, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth Night
A woman asks her lover to leave her house, brandishing his sword and feigning rage in order to deceive her husband who has just arrived, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The husband berates his wife for purchasing gravel instead of sugar, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The daughter-in-law returns from her misadventure, feigning insanity, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Sixteenth Night
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
The handmaiden appeals for justice and the prince is taken to the execution site for the fourth time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The prince’s ordeal continues, he is ordered away to be executed for the fifth time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
The two cooks, who attempt to seduce the warrior’s loyal wife, are trapped by her in a cellar, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fourth Night
The princess discovers the dead bodies, with heads severed, of her husband and his Brahman friend, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-fourth Night
The magician, disguised as a Brahman, visits the king of Babylon, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-fifth Night
A House Burgled at Night