Artwork
The husband berates his wife for purchasing gravel instead of sugar, 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 is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work depicts an interior scene in which a kneeling man confronts a standing woman.
About this work
Overview
The work depicts an interior scene in which a kneeling man confronts a standing woman. He holds a white pouch and gestures toward her, while she clutches a smaller bag and appears uneasy. A richly patterned carpet covers the floor, and a gold‑domed structure can be seen through an opening behind them.
Subject & Meaning
The composition illustrates a domestic dispute: the husband reproaches his wife for having bought gravel rather than sugar, a detail derived from the accompanying title. The contrast between the two bags underscores the miscommunication, while the woman's posture and expression convey anxiety.
Technique & Style
Rendered with meticulous attention to texture, the painting employs fine brushwork to delineate the patterned carpet, the intricate jewelry on the woman, and the decorative wall designs. A vivid palette of reds, golds, and earth tones enhances the sense of opulence within the confined space.
Context
The scene is taken from a Tuti‑nama, or "Tales of a Parrot," a collection of narrative illustrations popular in Persian manuscript tradition. The episode belongs to the eighth night of the cycle, a moment when everyday domestic concerns are dramatized through visual storytelling.
Legacy
As an example of narrative painting within the Tuti‑nama genre, the piece illustrates how moral or cautionary tales were conveyed to literate audiences. Its detailed interior and expressive figures provide insight into contemporary domestic settings and the visual conventions used to depict marital dialogue.
Artist & collection
The merchant’s clerk replaces the sugar purchased by the philandering wife with gravel, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the thirty-eighth night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
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 Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Eighth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
The deceitful wife assaults her erring husband, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Shahr-Arai’s husband bends to kiss his wife who feigns sleep, 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
Kamjuy, the wife of the Raja, averts her face from the fishes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-third 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
The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twenty-seventh Night, form a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
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 Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twenty-sixth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
The parrot addresses Khujasta at the beginning of the forty-third night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
The daughter-in-law of the king of Banaras, charmed by the music of a vagabond, comes down to meet him, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Sixteenth Night
The eldest brother explains the reason for his youthful appearance, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-ninth Night