Cleveland Museum of Art
The prince and Nikfal are joined by Khalis and the Mukhlis who are the grateful snake and frog in human form, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth 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
- 137435
From the Cleveland Museum of Art record
The prince, wearing yellow pants, with Nikfal (Good Fortune) by his side, looks back to see two men approaching. They introduce themselves as the cobra, whom the prince fed from his own flesh, and the frog, whose life he saved. They took on human forms and pledged to be his servants until they have returned the favor of his kindness. At the bottom of the page is the edge of a pool painted in silver paint that has tarnished black. Grass and poppies grow on its banks. The otherwise arid landscape has been painted pink with sparse grassy tufts. The men wear Central Asian pants and tunic, while the woman wears Indian dress.
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- 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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