Elephant figurine

Iran, 19th century

Steel decorated with gold and silver

H: 20 cm, W: 11 cm, L: 33.5 cm

UMP 4842

Purchased from Josef Kohout in 1901.

A special surface ornamentation technique has been used on this gold- and silver-decorated steel elephant figurine. First the decoration is outlined in an engraved or dotted line on the roughened surface. Metal wire or leaf is then hammered onto each of these lines and fixed in place with heat; in the final step, the entire surface is buffed. This ornamentation technique was also used to decorate other steel objects, including weapons, armour, and various tools.

Fine art sculptures are a quite rare find in the art history of territories under Islamic rule. In spite of certain restrictions based on tradition and the teachings of the Quran, zoomorphic forms appeared in various types of objects that served some

practical purpose, such as incense burners, kettles, or aquamanilia. Steel figures with no specific practical function surviving from the 18th and 19th centuries were produced in Iran as decorations, and as such they were brought to Europe. However, these figurines may have also been used to decorate steel banners (ʿalam) used in processions during the Shia Muslim commemoration of Ashura in the month of Muharram, mourning the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.

Because elephants were rare in the countries of the Near East, they were a welcome royal gift or spoil of war. Rulers also used elephants in battle or while hunting. However, the figure of the elephant also has a symbolic function and appears in the Quran (Surah Al-Fil 105, “The Elephant”), referring to an Abyssinian elephant army’s unsuccessful campaign against Mecca. The year of this event, known as “the year of the elephant”, is also marked as the year of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.

Both figurines represent excellent examples of 19th-century decorative steelwork and ornamentation techniques that were not solely limited to Iran. Several more examples of Iranian artisanship (metal vessels, decorative tiles and other objects) also came from Josef Kohout, who sold the objects to the museum while he was living in Russia. (JMl)

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