Young Elephant Eating

ca. 1650

Not on view

In this close study from the Shah Jahan period a young elephant is depicted grasping leaves and cane in its trunk. While the genre of elephant subjects was well developed in the Mughal age, this example shows a particularly sensitivity to the personality and character of its subject. The elephant’s youthfulness is conveyed in its physical proportions. His forefeet are linked by a chain suggesting that he has not yet been tamed. He is informally dressed with small back cloth and has just deposited three mounds of dung as he prepares to feast on the leaves.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Young Elephant Eating
Date: ca. 1650
Geography: Country of Origin India
Medium: Opaque color and gold on paper
Dimensions: Image: 9 7/16 × 10 5/8 in. (24 × 27 cm)
Frame: 15 3/4 × 14 3/4 × 3/4 in. (40 × 37.5 × 1.9 cm)
Classification: Codices
Credit Line: Howard Hodgkin Collection, Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions, Harris Brisbane Dick, and 2020 Benefit Funds; Howard S. and Nancy Marks, Lila Acheson Wallace, and Friends of Islamic Art Gifts; Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest; and funds from various donors, 2022
Object Number: 2022.186
Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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