The Brahman comes upon a lion who has a deer and a gazelle as his viziers, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-first Night (c. 1560): Art, History and Details

The Brahman comes upon a lion who has a deer and a gazelle as his viziers, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-first 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:

On the left, the wary Brahman approaches the great lion, who rests on the banks of a river. Before the lion can attack, the deer and the gazelle step in and council him to receive the Brahman kindly. The Brahman has wandered into the wilderness after losing all of his wealth, but the lion gifts him an immense treasure.

Object facts

• Title: The Brahman comes upon a lion who has a deer and a gazelle as his viziers, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-first 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: 10.8 x 9.8 cm (4 1/4 x 3 7/8 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1962.279.150.a

A detail from the museum

The Brahman has a mark on his forehead identifying him as a worshipper of the Hindu god Vishnu.

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.