The pious man’s son, now a king, reveals himself to his father; his nurse upbraids his unfaithful mother, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-second Night, c. 1560
Gallery mode Full size at the museum

Window mode follows your eyes with your camera, in this browser only: no picture or position leaves your device.

The pious man’s son, now a king, reveals himself to his father; his nurse upbraids his unfaithful mother, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-second Night

c. 1560

Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Classification
Painting
Dimensions
Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 8.7 x 10 cm (3 7/16 x 3 15/16 in.)
Culture
Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line
Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Rights
Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed

View at the Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

The young man throws himself at his overjoyed father’s feet. As a boy, he was nearly killed by his treacherous mother, who hoped to please her lover. The nurse, learning of her plan, took the child and fled to safety. In the intervening years, he killed a dragon, married a princess, and became a king. The king’s success is attributed to a magical, seven-colored bird’s head, which he ate as a child.