Elephant Fight in India, Spearmen and Horsemen, Antique Engraving, 1859

An original antique steel engraving, uncolored, titled "GEVECHT VAN OLIFANTEN." Two elephants clash head to head in the center of an open field, trunks raised and tusks locked, each with a rider clinging to its back above a fringed saddle cloth. Dust and trampled grass rise around their feet. At the left a horseman with a lance and a group of men on foot advance with long spears leveled, while at the right another rider gallops toward the fight with his lance couched. Behind them a large crowd watches from in front of a wooden pavilion with a tiered roof, and tall palms and dense trees close the scene on both sides beneath a hazy sky.

The plate is lettered below the image in Dutch: "GEVECHT VAN OLIFANTEN.", which translates as "Fight of elephants". Beneath the caption, in a small script, is the publisher's imprint "Uitg Gebrs Kraaÿ Amsterdam.", short for uitgegeven (published) by the Kraay brothers of Amsterdam. No artist or engraver is named on the plate.

The source is Britsch-Indië, beschreven naar de nieuwste bronnen by A. van Otterloo (Amsterdam, Gebroeders Kraay, 1859), the Eerste Deel of the series Vreemde Landen en Volken, a set of books on foreign countries and their peoples. Its title page promises Met Vier-en-Twintig Staalgravuren en eene Kaart, that is, with twenty-four steel engravings and a map, and this plate is one of those engravings.

Staged elephant fights were a court entertainment in India, held before the ruler and his guests. The movement of the charging figures gives this plate a vivid energy that stands out in a group of quieter views.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.