Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009887The old man eats of the fruit of the Tree of Life, but drops dead, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night
by Lalu
Also known as: Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): Ninth night: The old man eats of the fruit of the Tree of Life, but drops dead
About the Artwork
The enthroned king stares in amazement at the body of the old man. The parrot, who brought the king the fruit, sits in a cage at the center of the room. Believing the parrot to be a traitor, the king orders his execution. However, unbeknownst to the king, the fruit was actually poisoned by the bite of a venomous snake.
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.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Lalu (Indian, active mid-1500s)
- Date
- c. 1560
- Medium
- gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- Painting only: 11.4 x 10.2 cm (4 1/2 x 4 in.); Overall: 20.1 x 14.3 cm (7 15/16 x 5 5/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
- Accession no.
- 1962.279.78.a
More by Lalu in museum collections
The handmaiden again pleads for the death of the prince, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Eighth Night
Laluc. 1560 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009788
The monk returns the magic parrot to its rightful owner, the merchant, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Tenth Night
Laluc. 1560 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009806
The wife of the son of the vizier brings the magic wooden parrot to her lover, the monk, who exchanges it for the replica, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Tenth Night
Laluc. 1560 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009813
The parrot brings a fruit from the Tree of Life to the king of Syria, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night
Laluc. 1560 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009846
Open-access museum record · AT-00009887
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