Tales of a Parrot, by Shravana (1560, c.)

Tales of a Parrot, by Shravana (1560, c.)

Shravana

1560, c.

The images are pages from the book Tales of a Parrot ("Tuti-nama"), a series of folktales of Persian origin written by Shravana in 1560, c. in Mughal India, court of Akbar.

The first image is from the seventeenth night titled "The old procuress conveys the young man’s message of love to Mansur’s wife." As the title describes, the image shows three figures in a room. In the center appears a young woman accompanied by another woman who acts as her servant. To the right appears an old woman with a club and with her head covered that is reminescent of Celestina. According to the description of the image, a young man becomes obsessed with the beauty and virtue of the merchant Mansur's wife and sends a messenger to profess his love for her when Mansur is away. The woman rejects the young man's proposal and drives the messenger away.

The second image is from the eighth night, titled "The deceitful wife ejects the procuress after blackening her face." In the image, three figures appear on the terrace of a palace, two young women, one being the wife and the other her servant, one of them expelling another woman. According to the description of the image, the lover sends a messenger to the wife to arrange for their rendezvous. The woman pretends to be offended and blackens the face of the messenger and drives her out of her house and throws her to the side of the canal. These actions have a hidden message for her lover, which indicates that their meeting will be at nightfall in that same place.

Image 1:
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper.
Dimensions: 20.3 × 14 cm

Image 2:
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper.
Dimensions: 20.3 × 14 cm