Lot 184: A Pair of Carved Bone Elephant Polo Figures

A pair of carved bone figures depicting a scene of elephant polo, set upon an oval base. The elephants are constructed using a bone overlay technique, featuring small, fitted rectangular panels of polished bone applied over a central core. Each elephant is adorned with decorative caparisons, incised with lattice and rope-twist patterns. Mounted atop each animal is a mahout figure wearing a turban and tunic. The players each hold a long-handled polo mallet with dark-stained shafts and rectangular heads, positioned over a small central bone ball. The oval base is similarly constructed from rectangular bone panels arranged in a brick-work pattern. The underside of the base reveals the joinery of the bone sections and shows the characteristic porous structure of the material. No maker’s marks or inscriptions are visible on the base or figures.