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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

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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