Elephant with Howdah

ca. 1680

Not on view

This preparatory drawing bears witness to the process of picture making in traditional Indian painting. It was customary for painters first to sketch out a composition in charcoal and then to paint the design in fine line brushwork. Whatever charcoal remained would often then be carefully erased. The composition was overpainted to achieve the finished work. Given that they were preparatory, few such charcoal underdrawings are preserved. This rare example depicts a striding, caparisoned elephant with its keeper (mahout) and a howdah (litter) secured on a saddlecloth along with strands of bells. Within the howdah is a hookah, placed in readiness for a royal personage who is not depicted. The rendering of the elephant’s head is particularly sensitive, revealing a strong empathy on the part of the artist for his subject.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Elephant with Howdah
Date: ca. 1680
Culture: India, Rajasthan, Kota
Medium: Charcoal on paper
Dimensions: Image: 16 1/16 × 20 1/4 in. (40.8 × 51.4 cm)
Framed: 21 3/4 in. × 26 in. × 1 1/8 in. (55.2 × 66 × 2.9 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, by exchange, 2022
Object Number: 2022.215
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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