2009.202.156: Frontal View of an Elephant Chasing a Horseman

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2009.202.156

Title

Frontal View of an Elephant Chasing a Horseman

Classification

Drawings

Work Type

drawing

Date

19th century

Places

Creation Place: South Asia, India, Rajasthan

Culture

Indian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/217277

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Ink and opaque watercolor on paper; Rajput Style

Dimensions

21.2 x 14.6 cm (8 3/8 x 5 3/4 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Stuart Cary Welch (by 1973 - 2008,) by descent; to his estate (2008-2009,) gift; to Harvard Art Museum.

Notes:
Object was part of temporary loan to Museum in 1973.

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

2009.202.156

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

The page features a large elephant, viewed from the front, charging at a male figure on horseback. Sitting on top of the elephant is the elephant driver (mahout). He wears a large, white turban; a long, yellow robe (jama), and a green waist sash (patka). He holds up, with both hands, a large elephant goad (ankus). The elephant’s gray eyes are fixated on the horseman and its trunk wraps around his waist. The rider turns back to stab the elephant in the trunk with a punch dagger (katar). The rider wears a yellow turban and a green robe. The intensity of the scene is heightened by the swinging bells that adorn the elephant, the horse’s full gallop, and the rider’s unraveling turban. Rajput Style.

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