The deceitful wife returns to her terrace after caressing her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)

The deceitful wife returns to her terrace after caressing her lover, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night

c. 1560

Shravana

(Indian, active 1550s–c.1600)

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: 8.9 x 10 cm (3 1/2 x 3 15/16 in.)

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.67.a

Location: not on view

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Did You Know?

Bright gold is visible in areas where the paint has flaked away.

Description

In order to convince the king that he should not have the prince executed solely on the basis of the handmaiden's accusation, the king's seven viziers each tell a story about the actions of a deceitful woman. This painting depicts the opening scene of the story told by the fifth of seven viziers. An adulterous wife has surreptitiously climbed down from her room to caress a man on the street, whom she wants to take as a lover. In the margin of the painting on this page is an inscription written in Persian identifying the name of the artist Shravana.