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The unfaithful wife explaining away the presence of the dough elephant, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
c. 1560
- Medium
- gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
- Classification
- Painting
- Dimensions
- Painting only: 11.5 x 9.9 cm (4 1/2 x 3 7/8 in.); Overall: 20 x 14.4 cm (7 7/8 x 5 11/16 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
- Kids profiles and older: it shows nature, places, still life or a children's book. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
A woman who has just committed adultery on the way to bring her husband his meal must explain why she fashioned his pastry into the shape of an elephant. She was not aware that her lover’s son had done this, but thinking quickly, she explained that she had a dream that eating the elephant would protect him from danger. He accepts this lie and thanks his wife for her kindness.
