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The parrot laughs on hearing the Raja of Ujjain’s wife admire her beauty in a mirror, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot: Forty-sixth Night
c. 1560
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
The raja’s wife claims to be the most beautiful woman in the world. The parrot laughs at her arrogance and tells them of a girl living in an underground kingdom whose beauty is incomparable. From the parrot’s words alone, the raja becomes obsessed with the girl and leaves to seek her company.
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Details
- Title: The parrot laughs on hearing the Raja of Ujjain’s wife admire her beauty in a mirror, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot: Forty-sixth Night
- Date Created: c. 1560
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 13.3 x 9.8 cm (5 1/4 x 3 7/8 in.)
- Provenance: Estate of Breckenridge Long, Bowie, MD, 1959; Harry Burke Antiques, Philadelphia, PA; Bernard Brown, Milwaukee, WI;
- Type: Painting
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.292.b
- Medium: opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
- Fun Fact: The mirror that the raja’s wife is holding is painted with silver and would have once looked reflective but has since tarnished.
- Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Culture: Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)
- Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
- Collection: Indian Art
- Accession Number: 1962.279.292.b
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