The monkey slain, his blood to be used as medicine for the ailing prince he has bitten, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifth Night

Also known as: Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): Fifth night: The monkey slain, his blood to be used as medicine for the ailing prince he has bitten

About the Artwork

Wounded by the chess-playing monkey’s bite, the prince’s hand became increasingly infected. The only cure, his doctors said, was to apply the blood of the monkey to the wound and let it dry. Reluctantly, the prince allowed the monkey to be killed. Two men accomplish this serious work at the left. In the right margin is written the name of the artist, the celebrated Basavana. The Tuti-nama contains the earliest known paintings by the prolific master who was instrumental in shaping the Mughal painting style over subsequent decades.

Inscriptions

'amal basāwan

Exhibition history

The Adventures of Hamza. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (March 6-June 8, 2003); Museum Rietberg, Zürich, CH 8002 Zürich, Switzerland (June 28-October 21, 2003). Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 27-August 23, 2009). Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).

Quick Overview

Artist: Basawan (Indian, active mid-1500s)
Date: c. 1560
Medium: gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions: Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 10.3 x 10.6 cm (4 1/16 x 4 3/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line: Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession no.: 1962.279.33.b

Provenance

?–1959: Estate of Breckinridge Long [1881–1958], Bowie, MD 1959–1962?: (Harry Burke Antiques, Philadelphia, PA) 1959?–1962: (Bernard Brown Agency, Milwaukee, WI, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Purchased with funds from Mrs. A. Dean [Helen Wade Greene] Perry) 1962–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.