Description
Despite the chess-playing monkey’s grim end, the baby parrots continued to cavort with the fox cubs. One day the mother fox discovered that her cubs had been eaten by a panther. Blaming the parrots, she lured a hunter to their tree. The hunter climbed the tree and ensnared the mother parrot and her babies. The mother instructed her young to play dead, then pleaded with the hunter to take her alone, saying that since she knew the art of healing she would fetch a high price. Lush vegetation and a stream of water painted with a soft brush indicate a fresh new stylistic vision that represents a departure from Indian and Persian styles that came before.
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 hunter throws away the baby parrots, who pretend to be dead, and captures the mother, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night
Basavanac. 1560
Accession Number
1962.279.35.a
Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
Overall: 20 x 14.4 cm (7 7/8 x 5 11/16 in.); Painting only: 10.6 x 10.2 cm (4 3/16 x 4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry