A handheld wooden sculpture of an elephant in traditional garb. The mighty, jet black body of the great Indian tusker contrasts sharply with its wise and gentle demeanour. It is one of the reasons why elephants have occupied a place of worship in Indian culture, a popular motif in devotional art produced in the subcontinent. The one that you see on this page is a standalone elephant composition, carved from wood and finished in metallic black colour.
A dynamic subject, the animal is clearly in motion. From the arrangement of its four legs, it looks like its image was captured right in the midst of a stroll through familiar paths of its evergreen home. Its body is tattooed with turmeric paste, as is the norm during Indian poojas and festivals, from the legs and the trunk to the face and the edges of its gigantic ears. Down the back of the elephant is a fabric of silk. On one side of the fabric is the painting of a hunter on the back of an elephant, while on the other of one on the back of a horse that has entered into a tussle with a lion. Each of the fabric paintings has been executed with vibrant colours and vivid detail, despite the scale of the composition.
In fact, it is the attention to detail that serves as a hallmark of good workmanship. Note the silhouette of the elephant’s skull and the curve of its trunk and tail, each of which has been infused with a lifelike aspect.
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