The king of the Ocean, having assumed human form, arrives at the court of the Raja, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eleventh Night

About the Artwork

His hands raised in a gesture of respectful greeting, the Raja got down from his throne to welcome the king of the ocean, wearing a crown with white flowers. At the left, the Brahman holds a rosary in his hands. The raja wears the clothing and turban favored by Emperor Akbar: fine white muslin tunic with long points, pants, and a ready-tied flat turban. The king of the ocean is dressed like the Brahman, with a wrapped lower garment called a dhoti, and he wears a sacred thread over his left shoulder, which is the mark of a high-born Hindu.

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

Exhibition history

Animal Fables of Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 12-August 29, 2021).

Quick Overview

Artist: Ghulam 'Ali (Indian, active 1550s-1590s)
Date: c. 1560
Medium: gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions: Overall: 20 x 14.7 cm (7 7/8 x 5 13/16 in.); Painting only: 11.5 x 10.3 cm (4 1/2 x 4 1/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Credit line: Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession no.: 1962.279.92.a

More by Ghulam 'Ali in museum collections

The prince’s ordeal continues, he is ordered away to be executed for the fifth time, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Ghulam 'Ali
c. 1560 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00009703

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