  
  About the Artwork
  
  
  As the first European factory to develop a formula for Chinese hard-paste porcelain, the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory near Dresden earned a reputation for exquisitely modeled and delicately painted sculpture. This was due in great part to the imaginative and complex figural designs of modeler Johann Joachim K&Atilde;&curren;ndler, court sculptor to Frederick-Augustus I of Saxony (Augustus the Strong).  Every detail of the Sultan Riding an Elephant is rendered with impeccable precision. The dignified demeanor of the sultan&acirc;&#128;&#148;from the red peak of his jeweled turban to the turned-up toe of his yellow shoes&acirc;&#128;&#148;projects a majesty beyond the small scale of the work. The energetic form of his driver, perched on the head of the compliant elephant, enlivens the ensemble. The gilded details and the Parisian-made mid-18th century ormolu (gilded bronze) scroll-work base add richness to a subject that would appeal as much for its whimsy as its evocation of the exotic and glamorous East.
From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)
  
  
  Title
  Sultan Riding an Elephant
  
  
  Artwork Date
  ca. 1749
  
  
  
  
  Makers
  
  
  After a model by Johann Joachim K&Atilde;&curren;ndler  (Artist)
  German, 1706-1775
  After a model by Peter Reinicke  (Artist)
  German, 1715-1768
  Meissen Porcelain Manufactory  (Manufacturer)
  German, founded 1710
  
  
  
  Medium
  Hard-paste porcelain, vitreous enamel, gold; bronze, gold
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall: 15 3/8 &Atilde;&#151; 14 1/2 &Atilde;&#151; 8 7/8 inches (39.1 &Atilde;&#151; 36.8 &Atilde;&#151; 22.5 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Ceramics
  
  
  Department
  European Sculpture and Dec Arts
  
  
  Credit
  Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, Gilbert B.and Lila Silverman, and the Visiting Committee for European Sculputure and Decorative Arts
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum&acirc;&#128;&#153;s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems&acirc;&#128;&#148;no longer assigned&acirc;&#128;&#148;that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  2004.11
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
  
  
  
