This ivory finial was clearly a medial piece made to fit together with other parts because it has top spaces for the insertion of ties, and the bottom has a large peg that would fit into a base. The wide-eyed mustached figure decorating the finial is astride a prancing horse and flanked on either side by attendant figures who guard several animals. The nobleman mounted on a lavishly decorated horse and accompanied by attendants is an apt symbol of the luxurious style of Indian princely courts in the 17th century.

Adapted from

• Anne Bromberg, Label text, 2003.

• Catherine B. Asher, "Finial for a bed or throne" in The Arts of India, South East Asia, and the Himalayas, Anne R. Bromberg (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013), 118-119.