The young prince is presented to the king, his father, by his teacher, but refuses to speak, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night, c. 1560
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The young prince is presented to the king, his father, by his teacher, but refuses to speak, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth 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: 11.5 x 9.8 cm (4 1/2 x 3 7/8 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

As the prince grew up, he was failing in his studies. After 12 years of frustration, the king found a teacher who used pictures and creative oral techniques to help him learn. When the day came for his examinations that would prove him fit to rule, both the prince and the teacher were confident that he was well prepared. Before going in for the examinations, the teacher read his horoscope and discovered that disaster would befall him that very week, unless he kept completely silent until the seven-day period of danger had passed. The painting on this page shows the prince in blue next to his teacher in yellow, kneeling before the king.