Collection Online as of January 27, 2023
Rao Ram Singh I’s Elephant Gone Amok
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Page: 20 x 41.6 cm (7 7/8 x 16 3/8 in.)
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.177
Location
not on view
Description
A royal elephant, named Nahan, according to the inscription, is attempting to free itself by breaking the chain. His ears are flexed forward, and his great mass overwhelms the five men trying to control the elephant with spears and firecrackers tied to sticks. The artist used gold in the elephant’s eye to emphasize the intensity of expression.