Indian, Varanasi

Composed of a menagerie of different animals, this ornate drawing of a palanquin, a structure used to carry a person, was made to suit the tastes of Europeans working for the East India Company. The palanquin’s carrying pole is fronted by an elephant with an upraised trunk and ends with a snarling cheetah. The front of the box is decorated with a winged lady whose body curves downwards to meet the open mouth of a hound-like beast with leopard spots. Mounted on the beast is a smiling lion, its tail echoing the curving shape of the structure.