Ankush (elephant goad)
ca. 1600 -1700
In India, elephants were the prerogative of the king, ridden in battle, on hunting expeditions, and during parades. Highly intelligent but also dangerous, elephants were kept at court, where they were trained, cared for, and driven by a mahout, a man from a family of elephant professionals, who used a tool called an ankush to command the elephant through a complex language of pokes and jabs. The ankush eventually took on the status of a royal emblem.
Steel with gilding, copper with gilding, rock crystal
32 x 8 in. (81.3 x 20.32 cm)
Gift of Mrs. John C. Atwood, Jr.
54.38