Collection Online as of June 4, 2023

The tale of the three men trapped in a cave by a rolling boulder, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night

c. 1560

Part of a set. See all set records

Mughal India, court of Akbar

(reigned 1556–1605)

Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper

Overall: 20 x 13.3 cm (7 7/8 x 5 1/4 in.); Painting only: 11.1 x 10.2 cm (4 3/8 x 4 in.)

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.215.a

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

This painting is attributed to Bihzad, the son of Abd al-Samad the Persian master of the Mughal court.

Description

Three men kneel in the bowels of a dark cave where they have been trapped while seeking hidden treasure. Fearful and desperate, they suddenly hear a disembodied voice that orders them to confess their transgressions. As each man speaks, a portion of the boulder disappears, and they are ultimately freed.

Provenance

Estate of Breckenridge Long, Bowie, MD, 1959; Harry Burke Antiques, Philadelphia, PA; Bernard Brown, Milwaukee, WI;

Citations

Chandra, Pramod, and Daniel J. Ehnbom. The Cleveland Tuti-Nama Manuscript and the Origins of Mughal Painting. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976. p. 133 www.jstor.org

Mace, Sonya Rhie, Mohsen Ashtiany, Catherine Glynn, Pedro Moura Carvalho, Marcus Fraser, and Ruby Lal. Mughal Paintings: Art and Stories: the Cleveland Museum of Art. London: D Giles Limited, 2016. p. 164