Cute Little Elephants

Beautiful Thai elephant lamp, 15th-16th century, via Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

This afternoon I saw a post by John McCafferty - a simple, beautiful sculpture of an elephant from 10th century Iran:

The elephant in question, via Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Something about those perfect hollow circles for eyes captivated me, and I thought - today is an elephant day. So here are some elephants. Please enjoy them. Happy elephant day. 

You have been noticed by the ceramic elephant.

I'm always so delighted by sculpture across the ages. You'll see some meticulously crafted, impeccable form and it'll be a thousand years old and from India or China or Wigan or Kuwait or Romania, and you'll think - these people were all just like me. They thought elephants looked cool. That's so real and true.

Elephant and its mahout, 11th century, via Louvre.

I really like the elephant lamp at the top of this post, with a blissful baldie perched atop the elephant's neck. Look how utterly satisfied he is. That's the right way to be if you are a little bald man. Fully nude, smiling with simple pleasure on top of an elephant. Isn't this every bald man's dream?

Get me on the elephant.

There are countless carved elephants to enjoy. Many come from Northern Thailand, something of a feature of Sawankhalok pottery and earthenware. They had an elephant boon. Good for them.

White elephant of Denmark (1822), Jacques-Evrard Bapst, via Louvre.

Very good elephants.