Cleveland Museum of Art
The snake, hidden in a basket of flowers, reveals himself to the Raja who has just sent away his wife, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-third 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
A black cobra appears beside the raja’s bed, intending to poison him in revenge for his earlier cruelty. The raja, who had mutilated the snake’s wife, reveals that he did so only after watching her seduce another snake. Upon realizing his wife’s treachery, the grateful cobra grants the raja the ability to talk to animals. The raja has sent his wife away after realizing the treachery of women.
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