Mahratta Chief and Horseman; Gwalior in the Distance

Mundy's admiration for elephants is expressed repeatedly in his journal entries and conveyed in the occasional accompanying illustrations. On January 3, 1829, he described the Maharaja of Gwalior's royal elephant as ''the most beautiful animal I ever saw": its head and trunk were painted in rich colors; it was dressed with luxurious textiles (gold- and silver-embroidered velvet), and wore elaborate silver ornaments on its tusks,ears, and feet.
Mundy compared the Indian imperial elephants he saw with English thoroughbred horses, and the elephants of English officers in India with workhorses. "The [English East India] Company's elephants ...shuffle along with short steps,their necks bent, and their heads hanging with the melancholy air of an Oxford-street hackney coach-horse. The Mahratta [sic] elephant strides majestically along,his head elevated far above his shoulder, and his tusks standing out horizontally [as seen in this print]. The chiefs pride themselves greatly upon these animals."