- Title
- Pair of Earrings in the Form of Dancing Elephants
- Date Made
- 19th century
- Medium
- Gold inlaid with rubies and sapphires
- Dimensions
- each: 1 1/2 × 1 1/2 × 1/2 in. (3.81 × 3.81 × 1.27 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.86.49a-b
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
These charming earrings in the form of dancing or frolicking elephants are made of gold inlaid with rubies and sapphires. They are close in design shape to the more common type of pendant earrings made in the form of a makara (mythical aquatic animal), which also feature a similar upturned snout and curved lower body. Makara earrings have an ancient heritage in South Asia, where they adorn images of Buddhist and Hindu deities, most notably Shiva and Vishnu. Various additional animals and symbolic objects were used to embellish and distinguish earrings, including lions, serpents, jewels, conchs, and sacred books.
Earrings in the form of joyous elephants may also draw their inspiration from paintings of the same subject, such as representations of elephants sporting during the summer month of Jyeshtha (May-June in the Hindu lunisolar calendar). For a particularly apt illustration, see a mid-18th century painting from Bundi now in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai (55.97).
