Elephant Goad
Elephant drivers controlled an elephant’s movements by using the goad’s sharp point to prick the delicate skin behind the animal’s ear. Indian elephant trainers have used tools like this one to manage their animals for thousands of years. The handle of this example depicts a tiger either consuming or vomiting a "makara," a mythical sea creature and a common motif throughout South Asia.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Lockwood De Forest Collection; Sale, American Art Assocation, New York, 1922, no. 279. Acquired by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Geographies
India (Place of Origin)
Measurements
L: 15 in. (38.1 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
51.61