Cleveland Museum of Art
The sentinel in the employ of the Shah of Tabaristan prepares to sacrifice his son to the ghost of the Shah’s soul, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Second 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
The loyal sentinel, in orange, holds a knife to his son’s throat, ready to sacrifice him to save the life of his dying king, the shah. The shah himself watches from behind the tree on the right. At the left, the female personification of the shah’s soul intervenes, saving both the shah and the sentinel’s son. The near sacrifice of the sentinel’s son parallels the Qur'an’s story of Abraham and Ishmael.
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