Two wrestlers with tiger claws (obverse)

This study of humans and animal forms is unusual as it incorporates multiple views. Sketched in brown ink and finished in black, it has composites of wrestlers on one side and four horses and tigers on the other. The wrestlers, locked in combat, wield a rare weapon like a serrated discus. On the reverse side are eight horses, four crouching and four galloping and four tigers, two stretching and two crouching forming an interesting optical illusion. The drawing demonstrates how traditional artists experimented with forms that may have taken them far beyond their traditional role in response to secular patronage from non traditional clients.

See related items

Amulet

Necklace

Necklace fragment

'Bua Clawer' or 'Buah Kelawar' or 'Baloh Ayam Batu', William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings