Cleveland Museum of Art

The prince being taken away for execution on the false complaint of the handmaiden, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night

Date: c. 1560
Medium: gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Culture: Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 137919

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

Embarrassed and angry that the prince rejected her advances, and worried that he will tell the king of her misconduct, the handmaiden preempts him by falsely accuses the prince of assaulting her. Since he has taken a vow of silence, he does not defend himself, so the king orders the prince to be beheaded. The prince’s execution is prevented by the king’s viziers, who recount a series of moralizing stories.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line: Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Provenance: ?–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

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