Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00013044Jhansi Fort and Elephant Battery
About the Artwork
Exercises involving elephant batteries, which were exotic to European eyes, attracted spectators; photographs of them were excellent souvenirs of these military forces employed by the British Indian Army. Elephants had been employed in warfare in India since at least the 500s BC, but with the advent of heavy artillery, their function switched from attack to support. They transported big guns and supplies and worked in logging and construction. It took many cattle to pull a load that could be handled by two elephants.
Inscriptions
Imprinted in white in negative on recto: “2803” Stamped in black ink on verso: “36.7.D” Written in pencil on verso: “21 [?]”
Provenance
1887 or 1888: Studio of Raja Deen Dayal, sold to commissioner (identity unknown) 1970s–2015: Walter Clode [1929–2022], Pershore, England, sold or consigned to Prahlad Bubbar Indian and Islamic Art, London, England 2015–16: (Prahlad Bubbar Indian and Islamic Art, London, England), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH December 5, 2016–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Raja Deen Dayal: The King of Indian Photographers. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 23, 2023-February 4, 2024).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Raja Deen Dayal (Indian, 1844–1905)
- Date
- 1886
- Medium
- albumen print
- Dimensions
- Image: 19.4 x 27.2 cm (7 5/8 x 10 11/16 in.); Paper: 19.4 x 27.2 cm (7 5/8 x 10 11/16 in.)
- Type
- Photograph
- Classification
- Photograph
- Department
- Photography
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Accession no.
- 2016.266.26
More by Raja Deen Dayal in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00013044
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