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

Also known as: Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): 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

About the Artwork

The parrot’s tale on the eighth night begins with a king in India who finally had a son late in life. The painting depicts the king enthroned, gesturing to the documents of an astrologer who has predicted that the child will undergo severe hardship in his 13th year, but that he will overcome them. The infant prince is held in the arms of a woman kneeling at the left. Female musicians provide accompaniment to the scene. The flat red background, drawn from indigenous Indian painting traditions, visually connotes the emotionally charged quality of this moment for the king.

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

Quick Overview

Artist: Banavari 1 (Indian, active 1550s-1590s)
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: 6.3 x 9.9 cm (2 1/2 x 3 7/8 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line: Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession no.: 1962.279.52.b

More by Banavari 1 in museum collections

The game of wolf-running in Tabriz, from an Akbar-nama (Book of Akbar)
Banavari 1
c. 1595–1600 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00009743

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