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Antique Thai Ceramic White War Elephant
$2,500
£1,911.38
€2,201.53
CA$3,503.27
A$3,911.07
CHF 2,049.34
MX$47,875.31
NOK 26,026.65
SEK 24,539.82
DKK 16,430.22
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About the Item
Antique Thai Ceramic White War Elephant. A hand sculpted stoneware figure of elephant and rider. The solid elephant stands firmly four square on a rectangular slab base. The head is pointed forward with the trunk tucked in beneath the chin and the short pointed tusks forward in an attack position. The tail is long and and held against the back of the right hind leg. The elephant’s harness has large four prong fittings at each of the five crossover points. The carrying cage having balustrades with upturned base and railing ends sits squarely on the center of the elephant’s back. The upright figure sitting at the elephant’s neck with the feet tucked behind the harness fittings holds a long stick resting atop the elephant’s head. The stick is either a representation of a halberd or a rifle. The rider is costumed in a pointed crown helmet, thick rope collar and a knee length pant tied in the back of the waist. In other elephant and rider figures, the rider is a designated commander or king in battle. Alternatively, a mahout would sit in the same place, but with the feet around the elephants neck. The details are deftly painted iron brown and the overall piece including the top of the base are glazed in a thick white semitransparent glaze having a bluish flash and crazing to a fine crackle. White Elephants in Thailand are sacred and a symbol of royalty. There are several famous white elephants in Thai history along with their presence in the tales of Buddha and his previous lives. Thai royalty and elephants have established relationships over thousands of years. A sculpture such as this would have been made and kept honoring this relationship as a temple or sprit house offering. Other theories suggest that a ceramic elephant figure is an appropriate mount for a relic chamber which would be held in the carrying cradle on the back of the elephant and that the rite of pouring water over holy relics in order to purify and venerate is appropriate and conducive for a figure such as this.
Condition: Head of rider reattached otherwise remarkably fine condition. Two thick adhesive felt strips added to the unglazed underside of the base for safe tabletop viewing.
Dimensions: 12 inches high x 10.25 inches deep x 4.75 inches wide (30.5 x 26 x 12cm).
Weight: 6 lbs. - 7 oz. (2900grams).
Age: 19th century or possibly earlier.
Provenance:
A South Miami Estate
Akiba Galleries, Dania Beach FL, Picture Perfect 3.11.25 lot 127
For similar ceramic elephants see:
Roxanna M. Brown, The Ceramics of Southeast Asia: Their Dating and Identification, 1977, P. 160, Plate 35, fig. 121 (Bangkok National Museum).
Charles Nelson Spinks, The Ceramic Wares of Siam, The Siam Society, Bangkok 1965, pl. 40 & 41.
- Dimensions:Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 4.75 in (12.07 cm)Depth: 10.25 in (26.04 cm)
- Style:Other (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Ceramic,Glazed
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:19th Century or earlier.
- Condition:Repaired: Head of rider reattached otherwise remarkably fine condition. Two thick adhesive felt strips added to the unglazed underside of the base for safe tabletop viewing. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Point Richmond, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: TM-UH901341stDibs: LU1778244174942
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Weight: 10 lb. 2 oz. (4600g.)
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Provenance:
with Peng Seng Antique Ltd., Bangkok 1993 (original receipt and certificate of antiquity).
William R. Appleby, New York
Doyle New York, Asian Works of Art September 21, 2020 lot #338.
For similar examples in Museum Collections see:
Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, accession no. C-1453.
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, accession no. 2001.2
Brooklyn Museum, accession no. 84.133.5
Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 2019.570.0
National Gallery of Victoria. Melbourne accession no. AS86-1984.
The Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, accession no. BATEA 1138.
Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University, accession no. EA1969.75
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, 1990.184
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Siamese Pottery in Indonesia, Charles Nelson Spinks, The Siam Society, Bangkok, 1959, Fig. 1.
Ceramic Art of Southeast Asia, William Willets, The Southeast Asian...
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