The merchant returns bringing a young slave who is really the son of the princess of Rum, now married to the king, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fiftieth Night (c. 1560): Art, History and Deta

The merchant returns bringing a young slave who is really the son of the princess of Rum, now married to the king, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fiftieth 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 princess of Rum watches anxiously from an upper window as her son is introduced to the enthroned king. In order to hide his identity, she has told her husband that the young man has expert knowledge of precious gemstones. The king, impressed with the slave’s skill, welcomes him into his court.

Object facts

• Title: The merchant returns bringing a young slave who is really the son of the princess of Rum, now married to the king, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fiftieth 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: 13.9 x 10.1 cm (5 1/2 x 4 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1962.279.318.b

A detail from the museum

The artist neglected to paint the white hairs of the fly whisk above the head of the king.

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.