A gilt-bronze figure of a seated elephant, Thailand, 19th Century

This elephant would have originally been part of a gilded and lacquered bronze figure group on a plinth, comprising a seated figure of Buddha with the elephant and a monkey kneeling before Buddha and making offerings. The group is a reference to one of the Eight Great Events in the Life of Buddha – the monkey’s offering of honey. While the Buddha was spending the tenth rainy season at the Parileyya (or Parileyyaka) Forest near the ancient city of Kosambi, a monkey brought him honey to eat, and an elephant offered him fruit and protection from the wild animals in the forest.

There is a closely comparable single kneeling figure of a gilded and lacquered elephant from Thailand, dated to the 19^th century, in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago (ref. no.1961.626).