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The old procuress conveys the young man’s message of love to Mansur’s wife, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot: Seventeenth Night
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
When a lascivious young man learns of the beauty and virtue of the merchant Mansur’s wife, he becomes obsessed with her. While Mansur is away on a long journey, the man decides to profess his love for the woman through a messenger. Here Mansur’s wife, seated on an arabesque-patterned carpet, rebuffs the young man’s advances and sends the procuress away.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineThe old procuress conveys the young man’s message of love to Mansur’s wife, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot: Seventeenth Night, c. 1560. Sravana (Indian). Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); painting only: 11.3 x 10.1 cm (4 7/16 x 4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry, 1962.279.127.a
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