The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 24, 2024
The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twelfth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
c. 1560
(Indian, active 1550s-1590s)
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 9.1 x 10.3 cm (3 9/16 x 4 1/16 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.95.a
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
The gauzy fabric that Khujasta wears over her sari is called an odhani.Description
Every night for 52 nights the sly domesticated parrot encourages his master's wife Khujasta to meet her lover under cover of darkness. Just before she leaves, he mentions a topic from a tantalizing tale; she becomes so curious that she cannot go out before hearing the whole story. By the time the story ends, dawn breaks, and it is too late for her to go out unnoticed. The gold sky and geometric tile patterns are derived from Persian sources while Khujasta's figure shown in profile and style of dress are purely Indian. The artist has chosen to tilt the carpet up in defiance of realistic perspective to show off the fine arabesque motif. The checkered bedspread calls attention to the empty bed and Khujasta's longing to be with her lover.- ?–1959Estate of Breckinridge Long [1881–1958], Bowie, MD1959–1962?(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, OHProvenance Footnotes1 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. 78, 111Seyller, John. “Overpainting in the Cleveland T̤ūtīnāma.” Artibus Asiae 52, no. 3/4 (1992): 283-318. p. 313 www.jstor.org
- Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 245): April 28, 2015 - November 2, 2015.
- {{cite web|title=The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twelfth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)|url=false|author=Tara 1|year=c. 1560|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.95.a