The origin of music from a fabulous bird of India which had seven holes in its beak, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fourteenth Night c. 1560 Part of a set. See all set records India, Mughal, Reign of Akbar, 16th century Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper Overall: 20.2 x 14 cm (7 15/16 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 10 x 10 cm (3 15/16 x 3 15/16 in.) Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.110.b DID YOU KNOW? The illegible writing on the musician’s book seems derived from an Indian script, rather than Arabic or Persian. DESCRIPTION This story tells of a fantastical bird called a qaqnos who emitted sonorous tones from its beak when joyful. From these sounds, the science of music was developed. In the image, a man holding a book in one hand and an instrument called a vina in the other crouches beneath a tasseled canopy. His weapons, a quiver, sword, and shield hang in the tree nearby. PROVENANCE Estate of Breckenridge Long, Bowie, MD, 1959; Harry Burke Antiques, Philadelphia, PA; Bernard Brown, Milwaukee, WI; CITATIONS The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 236 archive.org The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 236 archive.org Chandra, Pramod, and Daniel J. Ehnbom. The Cleveland Tuti-Nama Manuscript and the Origins of Mughal Painting. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976. p. 114 Nakhshabī, Z̤iyāʼ al-Dīn, and Muhammed Ahmed Simsar. Tales of a Parrot = The Cleveland Museum of Art's Ṭūṭīnāma. Cleveland: The Museum, 1978. p. 104 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 303 archive.org EXHIBITION HISTORY Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 4-August 5, 2003). Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 20-August 18, 2004). Masters of Indian Painting. Museum Rietberg, Zürich, CH 8002 Zürich, Switzerland (organizer) (April 30-August 21, 2011); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (September 26, 2011-January 18, 2012).