Royal elephants played a highly important role in the Mughal Empire as symbols of imperial power. They were used in warfare, state ceremonies, logistics and even executions. The present automaton is a rare survival showing the ongoing interest in royal elephants in Mughal art.

The rider of the present elephant is not dressed like a simple mahout. He is arrayed like a Mughal prince, with a turban typical of the first half of the 17th century, a luxurious orange jama and a pearl necklace. In many ways, his appearance recalls that of Mughal princes depicted in miniature paintings. For example, in the Dara Shikoh Album (British Library, Or. 3129, f. 59v) Prince Dara Shikoh (1615-1659) is portrayed wearing a strikingly similar orange jama and a pearl necklace. Please see J. P. Losty & Malini Roy, Mughal India – Art, Culture and Empire, British Library, London, 2012, p. 131.

Mughal emperors were passionately interested in curiosities such as automata. Beside local automata, they acquired European-made examples. This ongoing interest was supported by ancient Indian legends of mechanical elephants used for deceiving the enemy. The legend of King Udayana, mentioned in texts from the 7th century, tells of a wooden mechanical elephant built by King Pradyota of Ujjain.

The Mughals were interested in European automata as well. In 1595, the Jesuits brought an ape that squirted water from its eyes and mouth. In the painting of ‘Jahangir feasting Shah Abbas’ datable to about 1620 (detached from the St. Petersburg Album, and now in the Freer Gallery of Art, Accession Number: F1942.16a), Khan Alam holds a golden Diana, which is almost certainly an automaton from Augsburg. See, Jessica Keating, “Metamorphosis at the Mughal Court”, Association of Art Historians, September 2015, pp. 732-747 (especially p. 740).

The present automaton is of great art-historical and documentary value. It is a rare and important survival attesting the crucial role of royal elephants in Mughal culture as symbols of imperial prestige and military might. It documents the ongoing, passionate interest in elephants and their crucial place in Indian art.