The court jester meets a Zangi dancing with joy, and learns from him that the cause of his happiness is his assignation with a woman who is the jester’s own wife, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-second Night

Black ink calligraphy arches above the scene, integrating text and image as is customary in manuscript illustration.

Executed in the traditional Persian miniature manner, the painting employs delicate brushwork and vibrant pigments. The figures are rendered in flat, decorative planes, with the standing figure in richly patterned green and purple robes and the leaping dancer in a bright red skirt and dark trousers. Black ink calligraphy arches above the scene, integrating text and image as is customary in manuscript illustration.

The miniature originates from a manuscript of the Tuti‑nama, a collection compiled in the 14th‑15th centuries for elite patrons. The specific copy containing this illustration was produced in a Persian workshop, likely in the Safavid period, before entering a Western collection in the early 20th century, where it was eventually acquired by a major museum.

The Tuti‑nama belongs to a broader tradition of illustrated literary codices that combined poetry, prose, and visual storytelling. Scenes such as this one served both decorative and didactic purposes, providing moral commentary on courtly behavior while showcasing the artistic virtuosity of manuscript painters.

Miniature paintings from the Tuti‑nama continue to inform scholars of Persian narrative art, court culture, and the interplay between text and image. The work’s vivid portrayal of emotion and its integration of calligraphic elements exemplify the enduring aesthetic principles that influence contemporary reinterpretations of Persian manuscript art.