The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Mahant of Tarakeshwar Rides on an Elephant

Mahant of Tarakeshwar Rides on an Elephant

c. 1890
Secondary Support: 60.8 x 42.3 cm (23 15/16 x 16 5/8 in.); Painting only: 45.4 x 27.8 cm (17 7/8 x 10 15/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

The Tarakeshwar murder case of 1873 was a public scandal in Calcutta. It concerned an affair between Elokeshi, a young wife, and the chief priest of the Shiva temple at Tarakeshwar. Having learned about the affair, her jealous husband cut Elokeshi’s throat with a fish knife on May 27, 1873. In the subsequent trial, the husband, Banerji, was sentenced to life imprisonment and the priest was fined and imprisoned for three years. Several Bengali plays and Kalighat images were inspired by this affair and depicted events that did not actually occur but were imagined by the artist. The Mahant (head priest), the adulterer, is here depicted atop an elephant, a symbol of royalty and status. While it is not known whether he actually rode an elephant, his depiction astride one indicates the Mahant’s power and affluence, setting the stage for other images of the scandalous Tarakeshwar murder of 1873.
  • ?-2003
    William E. Ward [1922-2004], Solon, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2003-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Indian Kalighat Paintings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 1-September 18, 2011).
    Cleveland Museum of Art, (5/1/11-9/18/11); "Indian Kalighat Paintings"
  • {{cite web|title=Mahant of Tarakeshwar Rides on an Elephant|url=false|author=|year=c. 1890|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2003.104