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The lion disturbed by mice who eat the food trapped in his aging teeth, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
In a scene that was overpainted to suit the taste of the emperor Akbar for soft modeling and a naturalistic sky, a tiger lies in a pink clearing, while mice run around him to pick at his teeth. The artist has depicted a tiger instead of a lion, the two often being interchangeable in Indian art. In the story, the lion had grown old and suffered from cavities, into which his food would get stuck. Mice would come and feed on those morsels between his teeth and disturb his sleep.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineThe lion disturbed by mice who eat the food trapped in his aging teeth, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifteenth Night, c. 1560. India, Mughal court, 16th century. Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); painting only: 7.7 x 10.1 cm (3 1/16 x 4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry, 1962.279.113.a
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