The Emir slays the snake after giving it shelter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-fifth Night

c. 1560

The Emir slays the snake after giving it shelter, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Forty-fifth Night, c. 1560. 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: 9.9 x 10.5 cm (3 7/8 x 4 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.287.b In the upper register, the emir addresses the snake’s owner. The snake itself hides, barely visible beneath the edge of the emir’s orange robe. In the bottom scene, the emir dashes the snake on the ground having realized that the dangerous animal planned to kill him. The previous folio, showing Khujasta addressing Tuti the parrot, is currently in the collection of the National Museum of Asian Art-Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.