Harvard Art Museums > 2009.202.80: Rao Ram Singh I of Kota, as a Prince, Slays a Rhinoceros from an Elephant 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"Rao Ram Singh I of Kota, as a Prince, Slays a Rhinoceros from an Elephant , 2009.202.80,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 18, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/217631. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. 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 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 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
