Royal Elephant Ramkali with a Mahout
Unknown Artist
c. 1761
Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Dimensions
24.1 × 25 cm · painting: 20.6 × 21.4 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski
Accession Number
2005.202
About this artwork
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.