id: 137588
accession number: 1962.279.207.a
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.207.a
updated: 2023-08-23 21:37:19.636000
The donkey, in a tiger’s skin, reveals his identity by braying aloud, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-first Night, c. 1560. Attributed to Basavana (Indian, active c. 1560–1600). Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper; overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); painting only: 13.8 x 10 cm (5 7/16 x 3 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.207.a
title: The donkey, in a tiger’s skin, reveals his identity by braying aloud, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-first Night
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: c. 1560
creation date earliest: 1555
creation date latest: 1565
current location:
creditline: Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
copyright:
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culture: Mughal India, court of Akbar (reigned 1556–1605)
technique: gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection: Indian Art
type: Painting
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
* Basavana (Indian, active c. 1560–1600) - artist
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measurements: Overall: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 13.8 x 10 cm (5 7/16 x 3 15/16 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 2, 2014-January 5, 2015).
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PROVENANCE
Estate of Breckinridge Long [1881–1958], Bowie, MD
date: ?–1959
footnotes:
*
Samuel Miller Breckinridge Long (May 16, 1881–September 26, 1958) was an American diplomat and politician, who served in the administrations of Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Long is largely remembered for his obstructionist role as the Assistant Secretary of State responsible for granting refugee visas during World War II.
His interests included the collection of antiques, paintings and American ship models. He maintained a stable of Thoroughbred race horses and was a director of the Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland, and he enjoyed fox hunting, fishing, and sailing.
citations:
(Harry Burke Antiques, Philadelphia, PA)
date: 1959–1962?
footnotes:
citations:
(Bernard Brown Agency, Milwaukee, WI, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Purchased with funds from Mrs. A. Dean [Helen Wade Greene] Perry)
date: 1959?–1962
footnotes:
citations:
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: 1962–
footnotes:
citations:
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fun fact:
The complex brushwork, soft grass, and furry tiger’s skin are characteristics of the artist Basavana’s distinctive style.
digital description:
wall description:
This painting illustrates a story about a merchant who owned a donkey but did not have enough money to feed him. He was able to secure a tiger’s skin, in which he dressed his donkey at night, so he could forage freely in fields, frightening away the owners’ watchmen, seen here scrambling up in trees for safety. He succeeded for a time and grew fat and healthy, until a nearby donkey brayed, and he instinctively answered, revealing his true identity.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Chandra, Pramod, and Daniel J. Ehnbom. The Cleveland Tuti-Nama Manuscript and the Origins of Mughal Painting. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976.
page number: Mentioned: pp. 131-132
url:
Chandra, Pramod, and Daniel J. Ehnbom. The Cleveland Tuti-Nama Manuscript and the Origins of Mughal Painting. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976.
page number: pp. 78, 131
url:
Nakhshabī, Z̤iyāʼ al-Dīn, and Muhammed Ahmed Simsar, translator and editor. Tales of a Parrot = The Cleveland Museum of Art's Ṭūṭīnāma. Cleveland, OH: The Museum, 1978.
page number: Mentioned: pp. 196-200
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1962.279.207.a/1962.279.207.a_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1962.279.207.a/1962.279.207.a_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1962.279.207.a/1962.279.207.a_full.tif