The husband berates his wife for purchasing gravel instead of sugar, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night, c. 1560
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The husband berates his wife for purchasing gravel instead of sugar, 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: 11.7 x 10.2 cm (4 5/8 x 4 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

After a brief romantic encounter with a merchant, an unfaithful wife returns home to discover that the merchant's clerk replaced her sugar with gravel. Her husband demanded to know why she brought him a bag of dirt. In response, the wily adulteress concocts a quick lie that he readily accepts.