Description
The mahout (elephant driver), directs the confident female elephant at a brisk trot, with bells swinging in response to her movements. This painting belongs to a series depicting the elephants in the royal stables at Udaipur, each one named in the upper margin. Elephants have been a potent emblem for royalty in India for more than three thousand years.
Provenance
Collection in London, England, to Dr. Norman Zaworski (?–c. 1970s); Dr. Norman Zaworski [1920–2013], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art (c. 1970s–2005); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2005–)
Accession Number
2005.202
Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
Painting: 20.6 x 21.4 cm (8 1/8 x 8 7/16 in.); Overall: 24.1 x 25 cm (9 1/2 x 9 13/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski
Tags
Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Ink Tempera Gold Leaf Paper
Background & Context
Background Story
Royal Elephant Ramkali with a Mahout from c. 1761 depicts the royal elephant Ramkali with a mahout in the richly colored, precisely observed manner of the Indian courtly painting tradition. Royal elephants were among the most important symbols of power in Indian courts, and paintings depicting them represent one of the most accomplished traditions in Indian miniature painting. The richly colored treatment of the elephant trappings and the precisely observed rendering of the mahout and elephant show the Indian courtly painting tradition at its most accomplished.
Cultural Impact
Royal Elephant Ramkali with a Mahout is important in the history of Indian painting because it demonstrates the richly colored, precisely observed manner of the Indian courtly painting tradition as applied to one of the most important symbols of royal power. Royal elephants were among the most important symbols of power in Indian courts, and paintings depicting them with richly colored trappings and precisely observed detail represent one of the most accomplished traditions in Indian miniature painting, and the c. 1761 painting shows this tradition at its most richly colored.
Why It Matters
Royal Elephant Ramkali with a Mahout is an anonymous Indian courtly painting: the royal elephant rendered in the richly colored manner of the Indian miniature painting tradition. The c. 1761 painting shows one of the most important symbols of royal power at its most richly colored.
