Bronze figurine of a Maharajah and mahout on an elephant, 1795 (c)

One of 26 bronze figurines almost certainly made at Vizigapatam, on the east coast of India, 1795 (c), but they depict uniforms of several decades earlier. They show a very high standard of workmanship, and were probably made to order for a rich client.

The soldiers wear both Indian and European uniforms, and reflect the cultural interaction between the two groups. We do not know if they were made by Indian or European craftsman. There was a fashion for creating whole armies of toy soldiers in Europe in the seventeenth century - perhaps these soldiers were the treasured playthings of an Indian prince.