The king plucks fruit from the Tree of Life with his own hands and feeds it to a lady, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Ninth Night c. 1560 Part of a set. See all set records Suraju (Indian) India, Mughal, Reign of Akbar, 16th century Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper Painting only: 7.7 x 10.1 cm (3 1/16 x 4 in.); Overall: 20 x 13.4 cm (7 7/8 x 5 1/4 in.) Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.79.a DID YOU KNOW? Black pom-poms on the woman's shoes, braid, and jewelry indicate the ends of ties. DESCRIPTION In order to prevent his own execution, the loyal parrot must prove to the king that the fruit of the Tree of Life is not poisonous. When the fruit restores the youth of an old man, the parrot is vindicated. He watches from his cage, alongside other members of the court, as the king happily picks from the tree. INSCRIPTION [su]rjū INSCRIPTION TRANSLATION (by) Suraju PROVENANCE Estate of Breckenridge Long, Bowie, MD, 1959; Harry Burke Antiques, Philadelphia, PA; Bernard Brown, Milwaukee, WI;