The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 16, 2025

A royal ram with a gold chain

c. 1585; border added probably 1700s
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Sheep with black and white markings like this are called Jacob sheep.

Description

The ram in this painting is a particularly well-groomed animal that was probably kept in the royal menagerie and attended to by special keepers. The puffs of hair on the ram’s back have been colored with henna, and he wears a decorative chain of bells across his chest. The Mughal rulers collected and exhibited specimens of various animals from their territories out of a scientific interest as well as a desire to display the extent of their influence over the land and its inhabitants.
  • Ram, c. 1600–1615. Formerly attributed to Mansur (Indian, active about 1590–1625). Indian, Mughal. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper; 13.2 x 15.8 cm (5 3/16 x 6 1/4 in.). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Ross-Coomaraswamy Collection 17.3104. Comparable Material. collections.mfa.org
  • Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (7/31/2016-10/23/2016); Art and Stories from Mughal India, cat. 12, p. 193.
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245); January 5, 2015 - April 27, 2015.
  • {{cite web|title=A royal ram with a gold chain|url=false|author=|year=c. 1585; border added probably 1700s|access-date=16 July 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.298