Artwork

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 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 is an unspecified painting by the Mughal Painting artist Unknown. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

A woman stands above them, arms crossed, while a bed made of thin sticks collapses behind the men.

You see two cooks hiding in a dark cellar, their faces lit by a single lamp. A woman stands above them, arms crossed, while a bed made of thin sticks collapses behind the men.

This painting comes from a book of parrot tales told to Emperor Akbar. The story tests a wife’s loyalty—she outsmarts the cooks sent to seduce her. The artist shows the moment of trickery, with light and shadow making the scene feel tense.

To see more stories like this, look up *mughal india, court of akbar (reigned 1556–1605)*.

Overview

The painting illustrates a scene from a fourth‑night episode of the *Tuti‑nama*, a collection of parrot‑told tales compiled for the Mughal court of Emperor Akbar. In the image, a faithful wife confronts two royal cooks who have been dispatched by the king to test her loyalty while her soldier husband is away on campaign.

Subject & Meaning

The narrative underscores the virtue of marital fidelity: the wife, aware of the king’s scheme, lures the cooks into a trap rather than yielding to their advances. By imprisoning them in a cellar, she demonstrates that true devotion resists temptation, a moral lesson valued in the courtly literature of the period.

Technique & Style

Rendered in the miniature tradition of Mughal painting, the work employs a limited palette of deep shadows and a single lamp to illuminate the cooks’ faces, heightening the drama. The composition is tightly framed, with the woman’s crossed arms and the collapsing stick‑bed directing the viewer’s eye toward the concealed pit.

History & Provenance

Created for a manuscript commissioned by Akbar (reigned 1556–1605), the piece remained within the imperial collection before entering modern museum holdings in the early twentieth century. Its provenance traces a path from the Mughal court to European collectors, reflecting the broader circulation of Mughal miniatures.

Context

The story reflects courtly concerns with loyalty, honor, and the king’s authority to test subjects. It also illustrates the role of parrot narratives—stories told by a talking bird—as a literary device for moral instruction within the Mughal cultural milieu.