Landscape with a lotus pool, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot), Eighth Night

Description

Two white birds wade at the edges of a dark colored lotus pool surrounded by lush green trees. Though the artist is from the western Indian state of Gujarat, many elements reveal a familiarity with Persian painting conventions, such as the arid pink ground with tufts of grass, the overlapping leaves of the trees, and the grassy sward. The water was once silver, which has now tarnished black, and white lines render swirling eddies.

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–)

Landscape with a lotus pool, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot), Eighth Night

Gujarati

c. 1560

Accession Number

1962.279.59.a

Medium

gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

Dimensions

Overall: 20 x 13.6 cm (7 7/8 x 5 3/8 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry