Artwork
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This artifact is a single folio from the illustrated manuscript *Tales of a Parrot* (Tuti‑nama).
About this work
Overview
This artifact is a single folio from the illustrated manuscript *Tales of a Parrot* (Tuti‑nama). Executed as a painted page, it presents a dense block of black calligraphic text that fills the surface from margin to margin, punctuated by a small red mark near the centre. The paper exhibits a patinated appearance, with faint blue bands framing the upper and lower edges.
Subject & Meaning
The inscribed narrative was composed for Prince Salim, a member of the Mughal court, and forms part of a larger literary work that recounts moral and romantic episodes through the voice of a parrot. The careful, ornamental script underscores the text’s ceremonial importance and its role as a vehicle for courtly education and entertainment.
Technique & Style
The script is arranged in tightly spaced, curvilinear lines that interlock like vines, demonstrating the high level of penmanship expected of court scribes.
The page combines fine black ink calligraphy with a single red pigment applied as a decorative dot, a common practice for emphasis or pagination in Persian manuscripts. The script is arranged in tightly spaced, curvilinear lines that interlock like vines, demonstrating the high level of penmanship expected of court scribes. The blue bands at the top and bottom are painted washes that frame the text without detracting from its legibility.
History & Provenance
Created during the Mughal period for a princely patron, the folio later entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is conserved as part of the museum’s holdings of South Asian manuscript art. Its provenance reflects the movement of courtly objects into Western institutions during the 20th century.
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
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