Artwork Page for Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page

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Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page

c. 1560

Mughal India, court of Akbar

(reigned 1556–1605)
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Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Measurements
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.96.b
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

The text of this manuscript was adapted, edited, and revised by Ziya al-Din Nakhshabi in 1329–30 from an earlier compilation called Gems of Nocturnal Conversations, written as a gift for the Sultan of Delhi. Turkic by ethnicity, but Persian-speaking, Nakhshabi settled in India. He was a religious cleric from Central Asia belonging to the mystical Sufi order of Islam. He rewrote and revised the earlier work, renamed it the Tuti-nama, and made the language more elegant and proper than the previous version.
A vertically oriented manuscript page features fifteen horizontal rows of fluid black script across mottled tan paper. Thin, double-lined borders of gold and red frame the central text. Scattered red ink marks and small characters punctuate the rhythmic calligraphy. The aged paper deepens into dark brown patches along the bottom edge. The composition centers the elegant strokes within the formal frame, highlighting the graceful movement of ink across the textured surface.

Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page

c. 1560

Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

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