Artwork
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page (blank)
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page (blank) is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This object is a single leaf from the illustrated manuscript *Tales of a Parrot* (Tuti‑nama).
About this work
Overview
A thin red border runs along the edge, and a small red rectangle appears near the centre, likely indicating a future illustration or title space.
This object is a single leaf from the illustrated manuscript *Tales of a Parrot* (Tuti‑nama). The page is largely empty, showing only the faint blue ink guidelines that would have held the text. A thin red border runs along the edge, and a small red rectangle appears near the centre, likely indicating a future illustration or title space. The paper is aged, with a yellowed tone typical of centuries‑old manuscripts.
Subject & Meaning
The manuscript itself is a collection of stories narrated by a parrot, a popular literary genre in Persian and South Asian cultures. Although this particular leaf contains no narrative, the layout suggests where a passage or heading would have been placed, hinting at the structured storytelling method employed in the work.
Technique & Style
The page demonstrates the conventional preparation of manuscript paper: a smooth, slightly fibrous surface primed for ink. Blue ink, applied with a fine brush or pen, forms the ruled lines that guide the scribe’s hand. The red border and rectangle are executed in a contrasting pigment, a common practice to demarcate margins and decorative zones.
History & Provenance
The leaf originates from a larger codex that was compiled in the early modern period, likely in the Indian subcontinent where the *Tuti‑nama* tradition flourished. It entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection through acquisition of a larger group of manuscript fragments, though the exact previous owners remain undocumented.
Context
Manuscript production in the region combined literary and visual arts, with text and illustration often sharing the same page. The presence of a designated red rectangle aligns with the practice of reserving space for miniature paintings that would accompany the narrative.
Legacy
Even in its blank state, the page offers insight into the planning and aesthetic conventions of historic bookmaking. Scholars use such fragments to reconstruct the original layout of *Tales of a Parrot* and to understand the interplay between text, illustration, and decorative framing in pre‑modern manuscripts.
Artist & collection
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
