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The merchant’s daughter gives birth to a son as a result of eating out of the box. The clever child recognizes the false gems from true, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-third Night
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About this work
On the left, a group of merchants argue with a young boy over the veracity of their goods. The boy is a child of fate, miraculously born to a virgin after she ate the remains of a mysterious skull. The box containing the skull sits on the carpet between the virgin and her mother.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineThe merchant’s daughter gives birth to a son as a result of eating out of the box. The clever child recognizes the false gems from true, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-third Night, c. 1560. Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605). Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); painting only: 7.8 x 10.1 cm (3 1/16 x 4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry, 1962.279.161.b
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