Young Elephant Eating

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 693

In this study from the Shah Jahan period, a young elephant is depicted grasping leaves and cane in its trunk. The elephant’s youthfulness is conveyed through its physical proportions, and his forefeet are linked by a chain, suggesting that he has not yet been tamed. The animal is informally dressed with a small back cloth and has just deposited three mounds of dung as he prepares to eat the plantain leaves.

Young Elephant Eating, Opaque color and gold on paper

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