Artwork Page for Jhansi Fort and Elephant Battery

Details / Information for Jhansi Fort and Elephant Battery

Jhansi Fort and Elephant Battery

1886

Raja Deen Dayal

(Indian, 1844–1905)
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Culture
India
Medium
albumen print
Measurements
Image: 19.4 x 27.2 cm (7 5/8 x 10 11/16 in.); Paper: 19.4 x 27.2 cm (7 5/8 x 10 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2016.266.26
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Exercises involving elephant batteries, which were exotic to European eyes, attracted spectators; photographs of them were excellent souvenirs of these military forces employed by the British Indian Army. Elephants had been employed in warfare in India since at least the 500s BC, but with the advent of heavy artillery, their function switched from attack to support. They transported big guns and supplies and worked in logging and construction. It took many cattle to pull a load that could be handled by two elephants.
A horizontally oriented sepia albumen print depicts a military procession before a stone fort. In the foreground, oxen pull carts to our right, accompanied by men with medium-dark skin. Three harnessed elephants and a white smoke plume from a cannon occupy the middle ground. A sprawling fort with rounded towers dominates the background hill under a pale sky. Smaller figures and horses are scattered across the dusty landscape throughout the composition.

Jhansi Fort and Elephant Battery

1886

Raja Deen Dayal

(Indian, 1844–1905)
India

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