Mughal Elephant Pendant

DESIGNER'S NOTES

This classic silver plated pendant featuring an elephant from a work called The Dream Manual created in the 18th Century and held in the collection of The British Library.

Depictions of Indian elephants in the 18th century reflect both natural observation and symbolic grandeur. In Mughal and Rajput miniature painting, elephants were rendered with meticulous attention to anatomy and ornament, often adorned in embroidered textiles, gilded harnesses, and jewelled trappings, signalling royal authority and ceremonial significance.

They appear in hunting scenes, processions, and diplomatic exchanges, conveying power, wealth, and political hierarchy. European artists, influenced by travel accounts and East India Company encounters, incorporated Indian elephants into prints and paintings, sometimes exaggerating scale or exotic features to emphasise the foreign and majestic. Less remarked upon is the inclusion of elephants as auspicious symbols, linked to Ganesh and fertility, blending spiritual reverence with visual spectacle.

STYLING

The pendant is a few centimetres in diameter with a 450mm chain, so style outside high necklines, or against the skin with lower necklines. Wear with jewellery of similar scale, such as a simple silver bracelet.