The hunter offers the mother parrot to the king of Kamarupa, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
The king of Kamarupa, which ironically means “body of erotic love,” had leprosy. The hunter brought the captured mother parrot to the king, assuring him that the bird knew a cure. The lavish use of gold indicates that this book was a costly production. The figure of the hunter reveals the talents of the artist Basavana, whose name is written in the right margin. Draped in rustic garments shaded to appear softly flowing, the hunter bends forward with a subtle look of shrewd expectancy as the king seems ready to pay a high price for the parrot. The billowing red curtain is one of Basavana’s signature motifs. Beyond is a tantalizing glimpse of the forest to which the parrot will soon escape to rejoin her children.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionSimilar works
The prince sent back to the place of execution for the sixth time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The astrologer predicts a calamity for the newly born prince in his thirteenth year, but one which he would be able to overcome, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Kaiwan, Latif, and Sharif arrive at a house of worship, where they seek help from Khurshid who has become a mystical healer, from a Tuti-Nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night
Mahrusa’s marriage to the prefect of the city, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-sixth Night
The young prince recounts his experiences to his father, the king, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
The four destitute friends go to a wise man who gives each one of them a magic shell to be placed on top of the turban, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-seventh Night