Elephant Of Yusuf Al-Bahili
The elephant of Yūsuf al-Bāhilī, known as the Chessman of Charlemagne or ''Eléphant de Charlemagne'', is an ivory sculpture, possibly part of a chess set and probably carved in Sindh in the 9th century AD. It has been in Paris since at least the 16th century. Date and place of origin The date and place of its manufacture are uncertain. Tradition holds that it was among the gifts of the Caliph Harūn al-Rashīd (786–809) to the Emperor Charlemagne (768–814) at the height of Abbasid–Carolingian alliance, Abbasid–Carolingian diplomacy. There is an inscription on the underside of the base in Arabic written in Kufic script. On the basis of its style, the inscription has been dated to the 9th century, which provides a terminal date for its production. The carving itself has been variously dated between the 8th and 15th centuries on the basis of its style. Avinoam Shalem favours an 8th- or 9th-century date, while Finbarr Barry Flood favours the 9th or 10th century. The inscrip ...
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