Caparisoned Elephant
A small gilt bronze elephant stands in profile, trunk curled beneath its head and tusks projecting forward. Its saddle cloth is richly embossed with scrolling clouds and a dragon-like motif, edged with a scalloped border and tassels hanging from the harness. The gold surface shows wear, and a small vessel-like fitting rises from the back.
Look closer: A small metal fitting with a rounded cap sits on the elephant's back behind the saddle.
- Artist
- Unknown
- Date
- c. 1000s
- Medium
- gilt bronze
- Source
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Size
- 3400 × 2969 px
Public domain · The Cleveland Museum of Art releases this image under CC0 (latest date 1104).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access, share_license_status=CC0)
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access, share_license_status=CC0)
Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Cleveland Museum of Art, Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund