INDIA, RAJASTHAN, MEWAR, 18TH CENTURY

The present elephant portrait was made in Mewar in North India. Unlike paintings from neighbouring courts, Mewar artists favoured bright colours with thick applications and little shading or modelling. There was also a strong tradition of using painting as a chronicle of the ruler’s public life and courtly activities.
The present elephant is surmounted by a rider dressed in white attire. Chained at the ankles of his hind legs, the elephant bears a simple yellow-and-green cover secured by white ropes. Lifting its right foreleg, it is dynamically rendered in mid-stride against a minimalist landscape.
Set against a stark blue background and framed by red borders, with the name of the elephant inscribed at the top, this portrait bears incredible similarities to a Mewar elephant portrait sold at Christie’s New York on 22 March 2023, lot 413, suggesting that they might come from the same commission series. Other painting potentially from this series are housed in the collections of the Morgan Library and Museum (acc. no. MS M.1006) and the San Diego Museum of Art (acc. no. 1990.622). Two additional elephant portraits from this series were sold at Christie’s New York on 14 September 2010, lot 211, for $12,500.