ISARDA OR SAWAR, CIRCA 1700-20Pen, ink, gouache, and gold on paper, black margin. 13 x 18 in. (33 x 45.7 cm),
With bold curvilinear outlines and deft wispy shading, the artist captures the vigor of this prized elephant. The colossal animal's tusks are trimmed and capped with gold bands, and its face and ears are adorned with red and orange pigments. A few clusters of green grass have been tied and laid out for him. The artist of this painting was likely inspired by a mid-17th century unnamed Kotah painter referred to by scholars as the "Master of Elephants", who is known for his analytical and dynamic approach to elephant paintings. In particular, the energetic, swirling lines appearing around the eyes, mouth, and ear of the elephant, seen in the present work, are redolent of his style (cf. Topsfield, Visions of Mughal India, 2012, p.196; and Welch (ed.), Gods, Kings, and Tigers, 1997, pp.19-23). An inscription on the verso, "37 hathi", means this is the thirty-seventh elephant in a series of such drawings, to which lot 1220 within this sale also belongs. For another similar drawing of the same school, see Falk, Elephants of Fame, 1987, no.7. Provenance:Sotheby's, New York, 21 March 1990, lot 76 Christie's, New York, 16 September 2008, lot 455