Prince Salim riding an escaped elephant, Mughal India, probably Allahabad, circa 1600-1605
Lot 145. Prince Salim riding an escaped elephant, Mughal India, probably Allahabad, circa 1600-1605. Opaque pigments and gold on paper, backed on cream card. Painting 7 ½ x 5 1/8 ins. (19.1 x 13.2 cm.); folio 11 5/8 x 9 ¼ ins. (29.5 x 23.6 cm). Estimate USD 40,000 - USD 60,000. Price realised USD 37,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019
Provenance: The Khosrovani-Diba Collection; sold, Sotheby’s, London, 19 October 2016, lot 3.
Exhibited: The Palace Museum, Beijing 2018, pp.442-43, no.171.
Note: The elephant here seems to have escaped its tether, which drags behind it across the grassy hillside. The implied wild careering of the elephant serves to heighten the imagined bravery of the rider.
Christie's. Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence, New York, 19 June 2019