The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 13, 2024

Preparation for the marriage of Mahmuda to the Young Vizier, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-third Night

Preparation for the marriage of Mahmuda to the Young Vizier, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-third Night

c. 1560
(reigned 1556–1605)
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 16.3 x 10.2 cm (6 7/16 x 4 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.219.b
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Mahmuda’s name means “praised” or “blessed.”

Description

In the lower register of this bustling scene, musicians play in celebration of the impending wedding. Above, the betrothed couple sits at the right. Although Mahmuda was happily engaged to her childhood sweetheart, Ayaz, the young vizier wanted her for himself. Mahmuda’s father, the grand vizier, agrees to the arrangement. Heartbroken, Ayaz believes he has lost Mahmuda forever.
  • ?–1959
    Estate of Breckinridge Long [1881–1958], Bowie, MD
    1959–1962?
    (Harry Burke Antiques, Philadelphia, PA)
    1959?–1962
    (Bernard Brown Agency, Milwaukee, WI, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Purchased with funds from Mrs. A. Dean [Helen Wade Greene] Perry)
    1962–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 Samuel Miller Breckinridge Long (May 16, 1881–September 26, 1958) was an American diplomat and politician, who served in the administrations of Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Long is largely remembered for his obstructionist role as the Assistant Secretary of State responsible for granting refugee visas during World War II. His interests included the collection of antiques, paintings and American ship models. He maintained a stable of Thoroughbred race horses and was a director of the Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland, and he enjoyed fox hunting, fishing, and sailing.
  • Chandra, Pramod, and Daniel J. Ehnbom. The Cleveland Tuti-Nama Manuscript and the Origins of Mughal Painting. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976. pp. 79, 134
    Nakhshabī, Z̤iyāʼ al-Dīn, and Muhammed Ahmed Simsar. Tales of a Parrot = The Cleveland Museum of Art's Ṭūṭīnāma. Cleveland: The Museum, 1978. p. 213, n. 249
  • Indian Minature Rotation (Gallery 115); August 18, 2004 -
    Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115); August 13, 2003 - February 18, 2004.
  • {{cite web|title=Preparation for the marriage of Mahmuda to the Young Vizier, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-third Night|url=false|author=|year=c. 1560|access-date=13 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.219.b