
Cleveland Museum of Art
Shahr-Arai and her husband adopt her lover as a brother in the family, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fortieth 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
Shahr-Arai and her husband sit together on the right, offering food to Shah-Arai’s lover. She has successfully tricked her gullible husband, and he gladly welcomes the young man into their household. From this point on, the three live happily together—the husband never uncovering the truth of Shah-Arai’s deception. A lack of facial hair signals the lover’s youth.
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