Elephant Kingdom

Since ancient times, they have been treasured and pampered as the ultimate beasts of burden, venerated as the vehicles of gods and kings and even worshipped in their own right. Their legendary attributes of strength, intelligence, nobility and longevity are eulogized in myth, epic and popular literature. In the fi gural and decorative arts, elephants provide an enduring fascination.

Elephant Kingdom traces the myriad stories and symbolisms behind India’s much-loved animal, through its depictions in architectural sculpture. At the heart of the study is a collection of photographs from a diversity of antique settings—many of them in remote parts of the subcontinent. At centuries-old temples, monasteries, forts and palaces, elephants fl ank ceremonial entrances, enrich columns and capitals, form balustrades to stairways or stand as enigmatic sentinels of vast courtyards. Some are legendary characters in tales of dreams and salvation; others enact scenes from a faithfully observed natural history. Some transport kings and heroes into battle and the hunt; othersare celestial messengers of rain, fertility and good fortune. From monumental freestanding sculptures to fi nely-worked narrative friezes, the warmth and energy of these depictions bear testimony to the achievements of countless anonymous artisans. The result of a series of journeys to places where elephants still endure in stone, this book is not only an album of inspirations and motifs unique to India, but also a record of the special status ascribed to these majestic—and now endangered—giants of the animal world.