Two Sketches of the Head of an Elephant

Petrus Camper, c. 1786

Petrus Camper was a physician, anatomist, zoologist, palaeontologist and artist, who regularly visited the menagerie of Stadholder William V at Kleine Loo near Voorburg. There he sketched Hans and Parkie, two Indian elephants from Ceylon. This famous elephant pair was confiscated by the French in 1795 and transported to Paris, where they lived for several more years as celebrities in the Jardin des Plantes.

  • Artwork typedrawing
  • Object numberRP-T-1940-595
  • Dimensionsheight 185 mm x width 246 mm
  • Physical characteristicsred chalk

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Two Sketches of the Head of an Elephant

  • Object type

  • Object number

    RP-T-1940-595


Creation

  • Creation

    draftsman (artist): Petrus Camper

  • Dating

    c. 1786

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    red chalk

  • Dimensions

    height 185 mm x width 246 mm


Explanatory note

  • Het betreft hier de beide olifanten die Hans en Parkie werden genoemd en die in 1795, na de overmeestering van de Republiek, door de Fransen naar Parijs werden gevoerd.


This work is about

  • Subject


Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    Gift of J.C.J. Bierens de Haan

  • Acquisition

    gift 1940

  • Copyright

  • Provenance

    …; ? sale, collection René Della Faille de Waerloos (†) et al., Amsterdam (F.Muller), 19 January 1904, no. 75, as ‘Six feuilles avec études d’éléphants’, fl. 75;{Copy RMA.} … ; donated, with five others drawings, by Johan Catharinus Justus Bierens de Haan (1867-1951), Amsterdam, , to the museum, 1940

  • Remarks

    Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.


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