
May one see it?
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
Composite animals appear in Mughal painting from the late 16th century onwards. Animals such as camels, elephants and horses are composed of intertwined animals and humans, usually with a human or demon riding them. Here, a noblewoman rides a horse made up of animals and one human whose long hair forms the tail of the horse. Her hunting dog is composed entirely of animals. The meaning of these composite forms has not been established. The painting was produced within the Mughal empire in the late 18th century, perhaps at Murshidabad in Bengal.
Victoria and Albert Museum