A young elephant with his Indian trainer

Details

Thomas Daniell, R.A. (1749-1840)
A young elephant with his Indian trainer
pencil, unframed
8¾ x 14¼ in. (22.2 x 36.2 cm.)

Provenance

Probably Anon. sale; Sotheby's, London, 9 May 1962, lot 54 (part) where purchased for the present collection.

Exhibited

India Observed, no. 30.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

Mildred Archer, in her article 'India Revealed: Sketches by the Daniells' (Apollo, LXXVI, November 1962, pp. 689-92), comments that the curiosity demonstrated in the Daniells' natural history subjects reflected a general movement pervading Europe. In England scholars were collecting, and sketching, natural specimens in the course of their investigations. The famous first line of Blake's Auguries of Innocence (circa 1800) 'To see a world in a grain of sand' seems to paraphrase this quest to seek knowledge through close study and true observation.

More from Arts of India

View All