Description
This painting depicts a scene from the cautionary tale the mother parrot tells her young to warn them that interspecies friendships, like theirs with the fox cubs, are a bad idea. She tells them that there once was a monkey who could play chess, and he enjoyed many games with a prince. When the prince invited dignitaries for a party, the monkey made a bad joke, the prince slapped him, and the monkey bit him in return. At the left, food is prepared as the guests look on in astonishment. An inscription at the bottom of the page names the artist, who went on to become one of the most celebrated Indian masters at the Mughal court.
Provenance
Estate of Breckinridge Long [1881–1958], Bowie, MD (?–1959); (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) (1959?–1962); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1962–)
The wounded monkey bites the hand of the prince, his chessmate, in the presence of guests, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night
c. 1560
Accession Number
1962.279.32.b
Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
Overall: 20 x 14.2 cm (7 7/8 x 5 9/16 in.); Painting only: 10.2 x 10.6 cm (4 x 4 3/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Related Artworks
The parrot mother cautions her young on the danger of playing with foxes, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night
Dasavanta
The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Sixth Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
Dasavanta
Grapes
[]
Miniature Album with Figures and Landscape (Man Riding Carp)
Zeng Yandong