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 by the Mughal Painting artist Tara 1. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
You see a small, busy scene: a woman in a red dress swings a stick at a man on the floor, while neighbors peek through windows and doors.
The story comes from a book of parrot tales told to delay a wife’s secret meetings. Here, the wife attacks her husband to hide her own cheating—irony in bright colors.
To see more stories like this, look up mughal india, court of akbar (reigned 1556–1605).
Overview
This painting illustrates a dramatic scene from the Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot), depicting the moment a wife, caught in infidelity, assaults her husband upon his unexpected return with a companion.
Subject & Meaning
The scene conveys a narrative of deception and irony. A merchant’s wife, engaged in extramarital affairs, attacks her husband when he returns with another woman, aiming to deflect attention from her own indiscretions.
Technique & Style
Executed in vivid colors, the small, bustling composition features a woman in a distinctive red dress attacking a prone man, surrounded by curious onlookers peeking through windows and doors, characteristic of Mughal miniature painting.
History & Provenance
Originating from the court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605), this work is part of an illustrated manuscript of the Tuti-nama, a collection of stories told to distract a wife from her clandestine meetings.
Context
Created during the Mughal Empire under Akbar’s patronage, the painting reflects the era’s literary and artistic traditions, blending Indian, Persian, and Islamic influences.
Legacy
This piece contributes to the understanding of Mughal art and literature, exemplifying the themes and visual styles prevalent during Akbar’s rule, with its story and artwork remaining relevant in the study of Mughal India.
Artist & collection
Artist
Meet Tara, the sharp-eyed painter who turned a collection of bawdy parrot tales into glowing miniatures.
The deceitful wife assaults her erring husband, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The deceitful wife ejects the procuress after blackening her face, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The deceitful wife ejects the procuress after blackening her face, 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
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 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
The husband berates his wife for purchasing gravel instead of sugar, 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
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 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 merchant’s clerk replaces the sugar purchased by the philandering wife with gravel, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night