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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2009.202.80
Title
Rao Ram Singh I of Kota, as a Prince, Slays a Rhinoceros from an Elephant
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
c. 1690-1700
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Rajasthan, Kota
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/217631

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Black ink over charcoal underdrawing on off-white laid paper
Dimensions
30 x 46.3 cm (11 13/16 x 18 1/4 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Stuart Cary Welch (by 1969 - 2008,) by descent; to his estate (2008-2009,) gift; to Harvard Art Museum.

Notes:
Object was part of temporary loan to Museum in 1969.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Gift of Edith I. Welch in memory of Stuart Cary Welch
Accession Year
2009
Object Number
2009.202.80
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
This prepratory drawing, for a wall painting for the Chhatra Mahal in Kotah, features Rao Ram Singh I of Kota (r. 1667-88) as a young prince hunting a rhinocerous while on an elephant. Rao Ram Singh I was known as a skilled warrior and hunstman; his mastery over the elephant is demonstrated here by his lack of an ankus, or elephant goad, a tool that is used to control and manipulate the animal's movements. With both his hands free, he is shown firing arrows at the rhinoceros. The elephant, an active participant in this hunt, has its eyes fixed on the target as it wraps its trunk around the rhinoceros's neck. he artist’s masterful evocation of speed—from the windswept elephant trappings to the wildly ringing bells—along with the sheer mass of the beasts thundering across our vision contribute to the drawing’s sense of unstoppable power.

Publication History

  • Milo Cleveland Beach, Rajput Painting at Bundi and Kotah, Artibus Asiae Publishers (Ascona, Switzerland, 1974), p. 32; pl. LXIX, fig. 73
  • Stuart Cary Welch and Kim Masteller, From Mind, Heart, and Hand: Persian, Turkish, and Indian Drawings from the Stuart Cary Welch Collection, exh. cat., Yale University Press (New Haven, 2004), pp. 146-147; no. 47

Exhibition History

  • Indian Paintings from a Private Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 10/13/1983 - 12/11/1983
  • Linear Graces ... and Disgraces: Part I, Drawings from the Courts of Persia, Turkey, and India, 15th-19th Centuries, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/15/1994 - 12/11/1994
  • From Mind, Heart, and Hand: Persian, Turkish, and Indian Drawings from SCWelch, Harvard University Art Museums, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 03/19/2005 - 06/02/2005
  • 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/08/2017 - 04/19/2018

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu