A royal ram with a gold chain
1704
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1704
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
A royal ram with a gold chain is a 1704 unspecified by Unknown, a Mughal Painting work, depicting Mughal, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a white ram with puffs of red-orange hair on its back, a gold chain draped across its chest, and a fancy collar. This ram wasn’t just any farm animal. Mughal rulers kept rare creatures like this in royal menageries to show off their power and curiosity. The henna on its fur and the chain of bells tell us someone took great care of it—almost like a pet. If you like this, look up more mughal art next.
The ram in this painting is a particularly well-groomed animal that was probably kept in the royal menagerie and attended to by special keepers. The puffs of hair on the ram’s back have been colored with henna, and he wears a decorative chain of bells across his chest. The Mughal rulers collected and exhibited specimens of various animals from their territories out of a scientific interest as well as a desire to display the extent of their influence over the land and its inhabitants.
Sheep with black and white markings like this are called Jacob sheep.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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