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The vizier’s son receives the magic wooden parrot from the wife of the merchant, who is drunk, and has a replica made by a carpenter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Tenth Night
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About this work
At right, the merchant lies drunk while the vizier’s son receives the parrot from the merchant’s wife, with whom he is having an affair. In the upper register, a skilled carpenter carves an exact replica of the parrot that the vizier’s son will later pass to the merchant’s wife.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineThe vizier’s son receives the magic wooden parrot from the wife of the merchant, who is drunk, and has a replica made by a carpenter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Tenth Night, c. 1560. Lalu (Indian, active mid-1500s). Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; painting only: 9.8 x 10.2 cm (3 7/8 x 4 in.); overall: 20.1 x 13.2 cm (7 15/16 x 5 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry, 1962.279.81.b
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