Khalis repays the prince for his kindness by changing into a snake and sucking the poison from the king’s daughter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night (c. 1560): Art, History and D

Khalis repays the prince for his kindness by changing into a snake and sucking the poison from the king’s daughter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night (c. 1560) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The prince looks on in amazement as his snake companion resumes his original form and saves the life of the princess, who was dying from a poisonous snake bite. The snake owed the prince a favor, since the prince had cut a piece of his own flesh to feed him and his mate. After the girl was restored to health, the prince married her and became viceroy to the king. His three companions, Good Fortune, the snake, and the frog, having fulfilled their obligation, then bid him farewell.

Object facts

• Title: Khalis repays the prince for his kindness by changing into a snake and sucking the poison from the king’s daughter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighteenth Night
• Date: c. 1560
• Culture: Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
• Dimensions: Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 6.5 x 10.2 cm (2 9/16 x 4 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1962.279.136.a

A detail from the museum

The prince later marries the king’s daughter and becomes a viceroy.

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.