Elephant and Two Riders Hunting Rhinoceros (fragment) 1700 - 1725

Curator: Here we have an intriguing fragment titled "Elephant and Two Riders Hunting Rhinoceros," created by an anonymous artist, presently housed at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels so immediate, almost dreamlike, with the coarse texture of the canvas grounding the delicate figures. I wonder about the original scale. Curator: Consider the socio-political implications: the hunt as spectacle, the riders' class defined by their access to such a powerful animal. Who gets to consume this depiction of dominance? Editor: And what materials were used to construct this image? The pigment application is fascinating; was it a laborious process? The weave of the canvas surely dictated some aspects of the composition. Curator: Absolutely. We must analyze the labor involved in its creation, from the preparation of the pigments to the weaving of the support. Editor: It truly makes you think about the colonial gaze embedded in hunting narratives. Curator: Indeed, it speaks volumes about power dynamics and representation, doesn't it?