The forty wives and their secret paramours being punished by stoning to death, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twenty-third 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: 20.3 x 14 cm (8 x 5 1/2 in.); Painting only: 8.7 x 10 cm (3 7/16 x 3 15/16 in.) Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry 1962.279.164.a DID YOU KNOW? Mustaches are visible on several women in the pile, indicating that they are men in disguise. DESCRIPTION The Raja’s wives have been hiding forty young men dressed as women in their chambers. When their amorous affairs were revealed, all eighty were killed. Their deaths fulfilled an old prophecy written on a mysterious skull. The Raja’s men stand on the edges of the composition, hurling stones into the pile of intertwined bodies. PROVENANCE Estate of Breckenridge Long, Bowie, MD, 1959; Harry Burke Antiques, Philadelphia, PA; Bernard Brown, Milwaukee, WI;