PEACOCK IN THE DESERT: THE ROYAL ARTS OF JODHPUR, INDIA A dazzling assembly of golden litters, luminous miniatures, plush orange howdahs and more than 200 other objects from the former kingdom of Marwar-Jodhpur in Rajasthan, on its trek to the Royal Ontario Museum, where it will open on March 9. Oct. 18-Jan.
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Most notable are the Golden Howdah, the one used in display at the Napier Museum at Thiruvananthapuram which was used by the Maharaja of Travancore and the one used traditionally during the Elephant Procession of the famous Mysore Dasara. The Mehrangarh Fort Museum in Jodhpur, Rajasthan has a gallery of royal howdahs. In the present time, howdahs are used mainly for tourist or commercial purposes in South East Asia and are the subject of controversy as animal rights groups and organizations, such as Millennium Elephant Foundation, openly criticize the use of the howdah, citing information that howdahs can cause permanent damage to an elephant's spine, lungs, and other organs and can significantly shorten the animal's life.
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A passage from Roman historian Curtius describing the lifestyles of ancient Indian kings during the "Second urbanisation" (c. 600 – c. 200 BCE) rode on chariot mounted on elephants or howdahs when going on a distant expedition.
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He threw the curtains of the houdah up, looked at the sun, surveyed the country on every side long and carefully, as if to identify an appointed place.” Tolkien wrote in The Lord of the Rings of the Mûmakil (Elephants) of Harad with howdahs on their backs.
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Craftsmen spend months on each piece. In Murshidabad shola crafts are flowery designs, decorative headwear of gods and goddesses, garlands, figurines such as the faces of gods and goddesses, elephant howdahs, peacock boats and palanquins. Shola products are exported to across the world. In South 24 Parganas, many poor families earn their livelihood from shola products.
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Mahadol, the Palanquin at Mehrangarh MuseumThe howdahs were a kind of two-compartment wooden seat (mostly covered with gold and silver embossed sheets), which were fastened onto the elephant's back. The front compartment, with more leg space and a raised protective metal sheet, was meant for kings or royalty, and the rear smaller one for a reliable bodyguard disguised as a fly-whisk attendant.
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Cavalry carried spears. Elephants were mounted, sometimes allegedly with howdahs, which may be an Indian invention by archers or javelin throwers, with a mahout around the animal's neck. Chariots by this time were in definite decline, but remained in the army due to their prestige. In 185 BCE, the last Mauryan ruler was assassinated by Pushyamitra Shunga, the Commander-in-Chief of the Mauryan armed forces.
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However, he may have confused this incident with the use of a similar war elephant in Claudius' final conquest of Britain. 12th century Spanish painting of a war elephant. The "elephant and castle" from the 14th-century choir stalls in Chester Cathedral Alternatively, modern uses may derive from later contacts with howdahs. Fanciful images of war elephants with elaborate castles on their back date to 12th century Spain, as at right.
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84.2–7 There is also evidence that Carthaginian war elephants were furnished with turrets and howdahs in certain military contexts.Rance (2009) Farther south, tribes would have had access to the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana oxyotis). Although much larger than either the African forest elephant or the Asian elephant, these proved difficult to tame for war purposes and were not used extensively.In event, size alone was not necessarily a decisive factor.
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The museum within the fort called the Junagarh Fort Museum was established in 1961 by Maharaja Dr.Karni Singhji under the control of "Maharaja Rai Singhji Trust". The Museum exhibits Sanskrit and Persian manuscripts, miniature paintings, jewels, royal costumes, farmans (royal orders), portrait galleries, costumes, headgear and dresses of gods’ idols, enamelware, silver, palanquins, howdahs and war drums. The museum also displays armoury that consists of one of the assorted collection of post medieval arms.
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The elephants played a major role in the army and the dynasty had numerous war elephants. These carried houses or huge Howdahs on their backs, full of soldiers who shot arrows at long range and who fought with spears at close quarters. The Chola rulers built several palaces and fortifications to protect their cities. The fortifications were mostly made up of bricks but other materials like stone, wood and mud were also used.
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The Thain are another human faction, though with a barbarian culture loosely based on both Scandinavian "Viking" raiders and early northern Celts. The Thain's armies are based around a range of different infantry types, though there is also cavalry. Special troops include summoned animal spirits, boar-riding cavalry, and trained wolverines. The Thain's war machines are limited to balistae, but their behemoths include a variety of huge, antlered creatures, some of which are fitted with fighting howdahs.
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Combined attack of cavalry and infantry. An imagined Indian war elephant against Alexander's army, by Johannes van den Avele Eventually the two forces met and arrayed themselves for the battle. The Indians were poised with cavalry on both flanks, fronted by their chariots, while their center comprising infantry with war elephants stationed every fifty feet in front of them, to deter the Macedonian cavalry. The Indian war elephants were heavily armoured and had castle-like howdahs on their back carrying a trio of archers and javelin men.
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The Sasanian elephants were most effective in siege warfare against fortified cities, where they probably carried turrets or howdahs and were used as shooting platforms. According to Procopius, emperor Justinian I had raised Dara's city walls by to hinder attacks by the Sasanian elephants. Procopius has mentioned wooden turrets that allowed the Sasanians to tower over the walls of a besieged city and shoot arrows. During the Lazic War, Mihr-Mihroe's eight elephants proved effective in the sieges of Archaeopolis and other Lazic fortifications.
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Lao monk woodworking temple details Laos has a history of sophisticated craftsmanship in wood. Traditionally used in temples, many homes and government buildings have some richly carved elements today. Richly carved furniture, elephant howdahs, river barges, and funerary carts can also be found among the private collections of the elite or the Royal collections at the Palace Museum in Luang Prabang. The first detailed European accounts of exploration to Laos in the sixteenth century described in detail the delicate bas reliefs which were found on the temples and palaces.
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The outer harder brown skin is removed by expert hands to reveal the inner soft milky-white and spongy material, almost similar to "Thermocol", artificially produced in a laboratory. However, sholapith is much superior to thermocol in terms of malleability, texture, lustre and sponginess. Artisans use it for making artefacts used for decoration and ornate head-wears of bridal couple. In Murshidabad the shola crafts are flowery designs, decorative head-wears of gods and goddesses, garlands, intricate figurines like faces of gods and goddesses, elephant-howdahs, peacock-boats, palanquins and so on are made of sholapith.
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The architecture of India also shows the deep impact of elephant warfare over the years. War elephants adorn many military gateways, such as those at Lohagarh Fort for example, while some spiked, anti-elephant gates still remain, for example at Kumbhalgarh fort. Across India, older gateways are invariably much higher than their European equivalents, in order to allow elephants with howdahs to pass through underneath. War elephants also remain a popular artistic trope, either in the Orientalist painting tradition of the 19th century, or in literature following Tolkien, who popularised a fantastic rendition of war elephants in the form of oliphaunts.
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On 3 August 1749, the allied forces of Dupleix, Chanda Sahib and Muzaffar Jung met those of Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan at Ambur. Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan's forces managed to create a formidable stance by gathering around their howdahs despite being outnumbered 3 to 1, but it was the disciplined French infantry forces led by De Bussy that completely reversed the course of the battle against Khan. Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan was shot and killed in a fierce confrontation while commanding his forces from a howdah. The next day Muzaffar Jang and Chanda Sahib victoriously entered Arcot and Chanda Sahib became the next Nawab of the Carnatic.
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Symbolism contained in this text such as on 9 verso to 10 recto features an antelope trapped by its horns as a hunter takes advantage of its situation, which the manuscript regards as indicating both vice and temptation. Serpents resembling dragons were also seen as symbols of temptation, vice, and the devil in general as shown on folio 77 verso and 78 recto, which depicts a serpent-like dragon killing an elephant. One realistic element, however, can be seen on 22 verso to 23 recto, where the elephant illumination demonstrates Persians and Indians used wooden towers on the backs of elephants called howdahs during times of battle. Other notable sections such as the beaver indicate that the animal was used for medicinal purposes.
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Nossov, p. 30. Since the late 1940s, a strand of scholarship has argued that the African forest elephants used by Numidia, the Ptolemies and the military of Carthage did not carry howdahs or turrets in combat, perhaps owing to the physical weakness of the species.Scullard (1948); (1974) 240–245 Some allusions to turrets in ancient literature are certainly anachronistic or poetic invention, but other references are less easily discounted. There is explicit contemporary testimony that the army of Juba I of Numidia included turreted elephants in 46 BC.Caesar, De Bello Africo 30.2, 41.2, 86.1. This is confirmed by the image of a turreted African elephant used on the coinage of Juba II.J. Mazard, Corpus Nummorum Numidiae Mauretaniaeque (Paris 1955) 103, no.
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There are also representations of elephants with howdahs, one with women inside; four groups of turbaned hunters holding falcons seated on horses with rabbits below, and two enthroned men flanked by musicians and other attendants, all of which portray scenes of the Princely Cycle, a common theme in Islamic art. An oblong panel with a lavish scroll contains this Kufic inscription: "In the name of Allah the Merciful, the Compassionate, the kingdom is Allah's...greatest blessing, perfect health and happiness to its owner...in the year 510 in Mariyya". The chasuble is constructed from a textile which has been concluded once served a different purpose. Thirty-eight different panels fashion the chasuble, and are arranged in a patchwork manner to construct the bell-shaped garment.
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Among the interesting articles which have been designed and manufactured by this firm are jeweled crowns, swords, belts, silver bedsteads, howdahs, state chairs, challenge cups, shields, address caskets, all of which have been manufactured for some notable occasion, and special mention must be made of the caskets presented to his Majesty King Edward, when, as Prince of Wales, he visited Calcutta in 1875, and then as King Emperor in December 1905. Tower clocks were also a specialty of this firm, and many fine examples of this work have been made and erected in various parts of India. Being contractors to (Her Majesty's) Government they were large manufacturers of station and office clocks. Racing chronograph and complicated watches were also a leading feature of their business.
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Shah Abbas I receiving Khan Alam, ambassador from Jahangir in 1617 In 1623, Emperor Jahangir sent his Tahwildar, Khan Alam, to Safavid Persia, accompanied by 800 sepoys, scribes and scholars along with ten Howdahs well decorated in gold and silver, in order to negotiate peace with Abbas I of Persia after a brief conflict in the region around Kandahar. Khan Alam soon returned with valuable gifts and groups of Mir Shikar (Hunt Masters) from both Safavid Persia and the Khanates of Central Asia. In 1626, Jahangir began to contemplate an alliance between the Ottomans, Mughals and Uzbeks against the Safavids, who had defeated the Mughals at Kandahar. He even wrote a letter to the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV. Jahangir's ambition did not materialise, however, due to his death in 1627.
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Caïssa originated in a 658-line poem called Scacchia Ludus published in 1527 by Hieronymus Vida (Marco Girolamo Vida), which describes in Latin Virgilian hexameters a chess game between Apollo and Mercury in the presence of the other gods. In it, to avoid unclassical words such as rochus (chess rook) or alfinus (chess bishop), the rooks are described as towers (armored howdahs) on elephants' backs, and the bishops as archers: A leaked unauthorized 742-line draft version was published in 1525. Its text is very different, and in it Caïssa is called Scacchia, the chess rook is a cyclops, and the chess bishop is a centaur archer. This led to the modern name "castle" for the chess rook, and thus the term "castling", and the modern shape of the European rook chesspiece.
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Dara Shikoh Dara Shikoh ordered his large cannons from Jaigarh Fort to be chained together (limiting their mobility), Zamburak's armed with swivel guns were positioned behind the cannons and infantry Sepoys armed with muskets defended both the cannons and the Zamburak (Aurangzeb also adopted this maneuver). However the experienced and accomplished Mughal general Mir Jumla II, positioned hidden cannons in strategic locations across the battlefield assuring Aurangzeb of successful grapeshot's and sudden assaults. Both Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh were seated on massive Elephant Howdahs and armed with Matchlocks. Aurangzeb's far left flank was commanded by Murad Baksh and his elite Mughal Sowars, the rest of the army was effectively under the command of Aurangzeb and his assisting imperial general Mir Jumla II, Murshid Quli Khan was assigned as the Mir Atish (artillery chief).
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The races included in the game world, each of which has a line of miniatures to represent it, includes an assortment of standard fantasy races: humans (who are represented by two factions, the feudal Empire and the barbarian Thain), elves, dwarves, dark elves, orcs, and goblins, as well a faction unique to the game, the Icelords of Isthak (made up of ice witches, ice demons, and boar-like beastmen). Each race has its own troops, war machines, heroes, wizards, and "behemoths" -- large creatures such as humanoid giants, giant spiders with war howdahs on their backs (goblins), dragon riders (humans, elves), and so on. The game was originally introduced in 1999 by Hobby Products GmbH,, BoardGameGeek Review. but went out of print after several years mostly due to large problems with Hobby Products' restocking policy,, The Miniatures Page discussion.
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Despite the social freedom that came with being a member of the royal household, Mughal women did not go about unveiled and were not seen by outsiders or men other than their family. Instead, when they traveled they covered their heads and faces in white veils, and they were transported in howdahs, chaudoles, carriages and palanquins with covering on all sides, to maintain the modesty and seclusion required of purdah. When entering or exiting the zenana itself, female pall bearers carried their palanquins, and they were only transferred to male servants and eunuchs outside the walls of the zenana. Should outsiders be required to enter the zenana, as in the case of an illness where the lady could not be moved for her health, the visitor was covered from head to foot in a shroud and led blindly to the lady by a eunuch escort.
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Multi-barreled breech-loading designs were later favoured over contemporary revolvers, due to their higher velocity and faster reloading potential. The term "howdah pistol" comes from the howdah, a large platform mounted on the back of an elephant. Hunters, particularly in British Raj India, used howdahs as a platform for hunting, and needed large-calibre side-arms for protection against close quarters animal attacks.Maze. - p.19. The practice of hunting from the howdah basket on top of an Asian elephant was first made popular by the joint Anglo-Indian East India Company during the 1790s. The early howdah pistols were flintlock designs, and it was not until about 60 years later that percussion models in single or double barrel configuration were seen. By the 1890s and early 1900s cartridge- firing and fully rifled howdah pistols were standard. The first breech-loading howdah pistols were little more than sawn-off rifles, typically in .577 SniderMaze. - p.20.
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