Harvard Art Museums > 2009.202.242: Elephant Combat Drawings Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Elephant Combat (Attributed to Master of Elephants) , 2009.202.242,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 23, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/217075. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2009.202.242 People Attributed to Master of Elephants, Indian Title Elephant Combat Classification Drawings Work Type drawing Date 17th century Places Creation Place: South Asia, India, Rajasthan, Kota Culture Indian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/217075 Physical Descriptions Medium Black ink and watercolor on off-white paper; Rajput Style, Kota School Dimensions 42 x 49 cm (16 9/16 x 19 5/16 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Stuart Cary Welch (by 1983 - 2008,) by descent; to his estate (2008-2009,) gift; to Harvard Art Museum. Notes: Object was part of long-term loan to Museum in 1983. 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 2009.202.242 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description The drawing depicts two large elephants engaged in combat in a special arena. A large partition prevents the animals from seriously harming one another. The elephant on the left is fettered by chains on its feet, perhaps indicating that he is in must and therefore in a heightened, aggressive mood. Each elephant driver (mahout) wields his goad (ankus) as the animals attempt to gore one another with their tusks. The goad is a tool that is used to control the animal’s behavior and movements. As seen here, tusks were sawed to have blunt ends to prevent injury. The artist has varied his lines from bold to delicate to capture the powerful movement of the elephants and to suggest their wrinkly hides. Rajput style, Kota school. Publication History 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.130-131, no. 38 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
