The Brahman, unable to select from the four gifts of the king of the Ocean seeks the Raja’s advice, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eleventh Night (c. 1560): Art, History and Details

The Brahman, unable to select from the four gifts of the king of the Ocean seeks the Raja’s advice, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eleventh 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:

Behind the Brahman, four men present gold, jewels, a robe and a horse. The enthroned Raja has offered one of these gifts to the Brahman. However, after consulting with his sons, the Brahman is unable to choose the best one and returns to the Raja in frustration. The Raja, pleased with the Brahman’s honesty, allows him to keep all four.

Object facts

• Title: The Brahman, unable to select from the four gifts of the king of the Ocean seeks the Raja’s advice, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eleventh 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: 10.4 x 10.1 cm (4 1/8 x 4 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1962.279.93.b

A detail from the museum

The tree suggests a garden through the open door in the back wall.

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry

Further reading listed by the museum

• 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.