Artwork Page for Elephant Battery on Parade

Details / Information for Elephant Battery on Parade

Elephant Battery on Parade

1886

Raja Deen Dayal

(Indian, 1844–1905)
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Culture
India
Medium
albumen print
Measurements
Image: 18.1 x 27 cm (7 1/8 x 10 5/8 in.); Paper: 18.1 x 27 cm (7 1/8 x 10 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2016.266.27
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-toned albumen print depicts an elephant battery parading across a flat landscape. Rows of elephants harnessed in pairs pull heavy wooden-wheeled carriages toward the right. In the foreground, soldiers with light skin tone in pith helmets stand or sit on horseback. A low building and scattered trees appear in the distance beneath a pale sky and far-off hills, the scene possessing a grainy, weathered quality.

Elephant Battery on Parade

1886

Raja Deen Dayal

(Indian, 1844–1905)
India

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