Metope (?) from the base of a pedestal or of a monument. Xth century, Trà Kiêu style. Beige sandstone. 58 cm x 49 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art. J.H.Wade Fund, 82.10.

Like the upright lions (Fig. 11), the Trà Kiêu elephants are not free standing but are carved in bas-relief around a base of a pedestal or monu­ment. But as opposed to the more stylized lions, it seems that the Trà Kiêu sculptors took great pain to represent elephants realistically in posture and anatomy (Boisselier 1962 a : 201). This unmistakable Trà Kiêu elephant, seen in profile with the head facing the viewer, is remarkably life like, and the trunk thrown to the right is not without humor. Also true to the style is the slightly raised front foot. The only damage this elephant seems to have sustained is the loss of the tusks which appear to have been either broken off or sawed off. This is also the case of all the other Trà Kiêu elephants we had occasion to see, which is understandable in view of their fragility. It should also be noted that Asian femelle elephants have no tusks. For additional examples cf Cham Sculpture, Hanoï, 1988, Figs. 128-131.

"Some Remarkable Cham sculptures in American Museums" Natasha Eilenberg, Robert L. Brown

 

 

Article de "La Lettre de la SACHA" n°6, décember 1999, page 9.