King Bhojaraja tries in vain to ascertain the whereabouts of the pearl from the four travelling companions, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twelfth Night (c. 1560): Art, History and Details

King Bhojaraja tries in vain to ascertain the whereabouts of the pearl from the four travelling companions, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twelfth 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:

Having arrived at the king's court, the streetcleaner laments that his priceless pearl was stolen, but he knows not by whom. The king summons the four travelers, but in spite of severe threats, none admits to the crime. The king sits on a golden seat with tent-like trappings behind him while an attendant holds the parasol of royalty over his head. Unable to discern who stole the pearl, the king calls for his clever daughter "who was so intelligent and resourceful in solving problems that she had instilled humility even in cunning and sagacious men." She related a story. From each of their reactions to the story, she was able to identify the thief, and the pearl was recovered.

Object facts

• Title: King Bhojaraja tries in vain to ascertain the whereabouts of the pearl from the four travelling companions, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twelfth 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: 7.5 x 10.1 cm (2 15/16 x 4 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1962.279.97.b

A detail from the museum

The king’s trellised kulahdar turban is a vestige of pre-Akbar painting styles.

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry

Further reading listed by the museum

• Chandra, Pramod, and Daniel J. Ehnbom. The Cleveland Tuti-Nama Manuscript and the Origins of Mughal Painting. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976.
• Chandra, Pramod, and Daniel J. Ehnbom. The Cleveland Tuti-Nama Manuscript and the Origins of Mughal Painting. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976.
• Seyller, John. “Overpainting in the Cleveland T̤ūtīnāma.” Artibus Asiae 52, no. 3/4 (1992): 283-318.

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.