Royal Elephant Ramkali with a Mahout
1750–1761
- 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.)
- Genre
- painting
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art
Tags
Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Rajput kingdom of Mewar, Udaipur, Court of Ari Singh (reigned 1761-73)
About
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.