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Recto: A Roman Soldier Fighting one of Hannibal's Elephants; Verso: inscription relating to Pliny the Elder's Natural History, Book 8, ch.7

Jan van der Straet

A group of fighting Romans is in the left foreground; three standing see a lying one. At right is the battle of the elephant with the soldier. A trunk is roughly outlined below. In the left background is a box in which Hannibal is seated surrounded by standing persons. In the right background are fighting soldiers at the beginning of a street.

Credit: Museum purchase through gift of various donors

1596 or before
Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over black chalk on laid paper
1901-39-158
Image and text © Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2020

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