Английская Википедия:Elephant of Yusuf al-Bahili
The elephant of Yūsuf al-Bāhilī, known as the Chessman of CharlemagneШаблон:Sfn or Eléphant de Charlemagne,Шаблон:Sfn is an ivory sculpture, possibly part of a chess set and probably carved in Sindh in the 9th century AD. It has been in Paris since at least the 16th century.
Date and place of origin
The date and place of its manufacture are uncertain.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Tradition holds that it was among the gifts of the Caliph Harūn al-Rashīd (786–809) to the Emperor Charlemagne (768–814) at the height of Abbasid–Carolingian diplomacy.Шаблон:Sfn There is an inscription on the underside of the base in Arabic written in Kufic script. On the basis of its style, the inscription has been dated to the 9th century, which provides a terminal date for its production.Шаблон:Sfn The carving itself has been variously dated between the 8th and 15th centuries on the basis of its style.Шаблон:Sfn Avinoam Shalem favours an 8th- or 9th-century date,Шаблон:Sfn while Finbarr Barry Flood favours the 9th or 10th century.Шаблон:Sfn
The inscription on the base reads min ʾamala Yūsuf al-Bāhilī, "from the work (labour) of Yūsuf al-Bāhilī". The name may refer to the craftsman or the owner. He was a member of the Bahila tribe of Bedouin who lived in the vicinity of Basra in southern Iraq. The carving may have produced in or around Basra.Шаблон:Sfn However, on stylistic grounds, it is often associated with India. Places ranging from Gujarat to the Deccan have been proposed. It may have been brought to Baghdad in the 9th or 10th century along with other Indian exotica.Шаблон:Sfn One member of the Bahila, ʿAmr ibn Muslim al-Bāhilī, was the governor of Sindh under the Caliph ʿUmar II (Шаблон:Reign). His descendants may have remained in the region. A connection with Sindh is further suggested by the fact that the Habbarid emir of Mansura kept 80 war elephants, while the emir of Multan is known to have used elephants in processions. Both emirs appear to have adopted Indian dress.Шаблон:Sfn
The earliest certain reference to the elephant is from 1505, when it appears in an inventory of the Abbey of Saint-Denis alongside the unrelated Charlemagne chessmen, which were made in Italy in the 11th century. It belonged to the abbey until 1789, when, during the French Revolution, it was taken to the Cabinet des Médailles, where it remains today.Шаблон:Sfn Its current inventory number is Inv.55.311. It is also Chabouillet 3271.[1]
Appearance
The carving is Шаблон:Convert tall and Шаблон:Convert in diameter.Шаблон:Sfn It is carved in the round, i.e., intended to be viewed from all angles. It depicts an oversized royal rider in a howdah atop an elephant. The howdah is surrounded by eight infantrymen. The horse is surrounded by five cavalrymen.Шаблон:Sfn The elephant depicted is an Indian elephant, but the ivory itself is probably from an African elephant.Шаблон:Sfn
The carving has Kashmiri characteristics, but this is probably due to influence from Kashmiri workshops and not an origin in Kashmir, where most carvings are Buddhist reliefs. Yūsuf al-Bāhilī's elephant is not characteristically Buddhist or obviously religious, nor does it have typically Islamic characteristics. The meaning of the scene depicted is uncertain. It may represent the ideal political order of the Arthashastra, in which a universal ruler (chakravartin) is surrounded by concentric "circles of kings", adversaries and allies (i.e., the infantryman on the howdah and the cavalryman on the ground). Or, it may have a more mundane meaning, an idealized representation of a maharaja and his samantas (vassals) or, if it was fashioned in Sindh, of an Islamic emir.Шаблон:Sfn
The carving has been interpreted as a chess piece.Шаблон:Sfn Indian pieces this large are attested in the 10th century by al-Masʿūdī, who reports that game pieces were the most common use of ivory in India.Шаблон:Sfn There is an "almost identical" ivory piece in the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin. It is smaller, of poorer quality and much more damaged than the Paris ivory, but it is carved in the round and shows an elephant with a howdah surrounded by riders in a similar style.Шаблон:Sfn
In 2020, Dai Nippon Printing produced a 3D model of the ivory for the museum, which is available online.[2]
Notes
Bibliography
External links
- ↑ Catalogue entry, BNF Médailles et Antiques.
- ↑ Шаблон:Harvnb. See here.
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