The pious man’s son presents the slain dragon to the king, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-second Night (c. 1560): Art, History and Details

The pious man’s son presents the slain dragon to the king, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-second 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 king, wearing an orange tunic, is astounded, and he gestures to the headless body of the dragon, pierced with poisoned arrows, on the ground before him. Impressed by the young man’s courage and skill, the king allows him to marry his daughter and names him vice-regent.

Object facts

• Title: The pious man’s son presents the slain dragon to the king, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-second 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: 8 x 10.2 cm (3 1/8 x 4 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1962.279.338.a

A detail from the museum

The king is distinguished by the sarpech, or plume ornament, in his turban.

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.