Transporting Field Cannons
These drawings were intended to serve as cartoons for murals, probably within the palace at Kota. Each depicts five field cannons mounted on gun carriages, which are drawn by teams of bullocks. Elephants, empathetically rendered by the artist, assist by pushing from behind. The gunners who ride atop the cannons––treated in the manner of mahouts (keepers) atop their prized elephants—wear broad-brimmed hats identifying them as European mercenaries. There are numerous contemporary accounts of such firangis (literally “Frankish,” meaning Western foreigners) being employed by Indian maharajas as military advisers and strategists. Others served as gunners, including those skilled in the casting and deployment of cannons. Here we see an artillery detachment on the move, presumably part of a larger composition depicting an army campaign.
Artwork Details
- Title: Transporting Field Cannons
- Date: mid-18th century
- Culture: India, Kota, Rajasthan
- Medium: Opaque watercolor and ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 50 × 53 1/8 in. (127 × 135 cm)
Framed: 61 3/4 × 60 3/4 × 1 1/4 in. (156.8 × 154.3 × 3.2 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, by exchange, 2022
- Object Number: 2022.232
- Rights and Reproduction: Photo © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.