Unknown
Toy Elephant with Court Official Rider and Mahoutmid-20th century

Not on view

Small brass wheeled elephant sculpture with two crowned figures in a canopied howdah, decorated with low-relief patterning and four large disk wheels with incised star motifs

Cast bronze wheeled elephant vehicle with warm golden-brown patina and red pigment accents. An ornately caparisoned elephant with upraised trunk stands on four large spoked wheels with incised geometric patterns. A mahout figure sits at the neck, and a canopied howdah with two smaller seated figures rises from the back, supported by slender pillars beneath a flat roofed pavilion.

Bronze sculpture detail of an elephant with raised trunk, adorned with incised decorative bands; two seated figures ride in a canopied howdah above, with traces of red pigment on the tiered canopy and figure details.

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Toy Elephant with Court Official Rider and Mahout
Place Made: India, Chhattisgarh, Bastar
Date Made: mid-20th century
Medium: Brass with paint
Dimensions: 12 1/4 x 12 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. (31.12 x 32.39 x 16.51 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz Jr.
Accession Number: M.91.302
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: The Ghadwas (or Gadhwas) are an indigenous (adivasi) artisan community from the Bastar region of southern Chhattisgarh in central India. They are renowned for casting the so-called ‘Bastar bronzes,’ which are technically made of brass or bell metal and first modeled in clay rather than in wax. Reportedly first fashioned in the 11th–12th century, the folkish Bastar sculptures encompass a broad spectrum of subject matter ranging from depictions of protective deities to push toys with wheels for children, such as this lively LACMA example.

This toy elephant has a royal court official riding in a howdah and a driver (mahout) holding an elephant goad (ankush). Both figures are mustachioed and wear necklaces, rope belts, and a distinctive turban with layered folds, an angled top, and a pointed peak. This is likely a stylized rendition of a Marathi pheta turban worn by court officers and warriors in Maharashtra and central India (see M.77.15). See also M.80.6.3, M.2013.56.1, M.2013.56.2, and M.2025.83.
Selected Bibliography: El Universo de la India: Obras Maestras del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Angeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, 2012.

Unknown
Toy Elephant with Court Official Rider and Mahoutmid-20th century

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Toy Elephant with Court Official Rider and Mahout
Place Made: India, Chhattisgarh, Bastar
Date Made: mid-20th century
Medium: Brass with paint
Dimensions: 12 1/4 x 12 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. (31.12 x 32.39 x 16.51 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz Jr.
Accession Number: M.91.302
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: The Ghadwas (or Gadhwas) are an indigenous (adivasi) artisan community from the Bastar region of southern Chhattisgarh in central India. They are renowned for casting the so-called ‘Bastar bronzes,’ which are technically made of brass or bell metal and first modeled in clay rather than in wax. Reportedly first fashioned in the 11th–12th century, the folkish Bastar sculptures encompass a broad spectrum of subject matter ranging from depictions of protective deities to push toys with wheels for children, such as this lively LACMA example.

This toy elephant has a royal court official riding in a howdah and a driver (mahout) holding an elephant goad (ankush). Both figures are mustachioed and wear necklaces, rope belts, and a distinctive turban with layered folds, an angled top, and a pointed peak. This is likely a stylized rendition of a Marathi pheta turban worn by court officers and warriors in Maharashtra and central India (see M.77.15). See also M.80.6.3, M.2013.56.1, M.2013.56.2, and M.2025.83.
Selected Bibliography: El Universo de la India: Obras Maestras del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Angeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, 2012.