Goaded Elephant

Around 1835 Augustin Edouart held an exhibition of 38 fanciful silhouettes which he described in detail in his Treatise. Amongst these was a surreal silhouette entitled ‘The Temptation of St Anthony’ which comprised a myriad of whimsical vignettes showcasing imps, goblins, animals, birds, skeletons, even bagpipes. One scene in a rocky cave featured hundreds of demons fighting a ‘goaded elephant laden with a tower filled with warriors … amidst bows and arrows, javelins, spears, lances, muskets, cannons &c’.

Sadly this extraordinary sounding work is no longer extant but this tiny cut silhouette of the elephant has survived within the pages of the artist’s Scrapbook where he kept his practice and experimental cuttings. It has now been placed in a period ambrotype frame with a hanging ring and a stamp of authentication within. The case has some wear mostly confined to the reverse side.