Art imitating life...Or is it the other way around?

[VANDOO]

I LIKE THESE TOO NO DOUBT ORIGINAL DRAWINGS WERE DONE BY ONE OR A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS DURING THE HUNT PERHAPS SOME WRITING DOWN EVENTS AND SOME DRAWING SKETCHES AND ACCOMPANYING DIFFERENT GROUPS. THERE WAS NO SHORTAGE OF MANPOWER ON THESE HUNTS IN INDIA.
THESE TWO STRIKE ME AS PERHAPS REPRESENTING A COMPOSITE OF SEVERAL DIFFERENT EVENTS AS WELL AS DIFFERENT GROUPS IN THE HUNT. THE SECOND ONE HAS A TRAINED CHEETAH THAT IS NOT REPRESENTED IN THE COLOR VERSION. DIFFERENT DRAWINGS WERE PROBABLY PRESENTED TO THE ROYALTY WHO SELECTED WHAT THEY LIKED BEST AND ORDERED THE FINAL PRODUCT.
I HAVE SEEN ROUGH SKETCHES, PAINTINGS AND WEAVINGS WITH LESS DETAIL, COLOR PAINTINGS AND TOP OF THE LINE PAINTINGS ON IVORY SOMETIMES INLAYED WITH GOLD AND JEWELS. INDIA AND PERSIA SEEM TO HAVE THE BEST WORK IN THE IVORY EXAMPLES I HAVE SEEN.

THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS I MISSED THE FIRST TIME. PERHAPS DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS AND TIME PERIODS AND HUNTS COULD BE DETERMINED BY THE VARIATIONS IN ATTIRE OF THE PEOPLE, CLOTHES HATS WEAPONS ECT. ANOTHER PUZZLE IS WHY WOULD THE HUNTING ELEPHANTS IN BOTH PICTURES HAVE BELLS ON THEM WHICH I WOULD THINK WOULD DRIVE THE PREY AWAY.? THE WHITE HORSE IN THE FIRST PICTURE HAS RED CUFFS ON ALL ITS LEGS IS THAT DECORATION OR PROTECTION? IN HINDU MYTHOLOGY THERE ARE MANY STORIES OF THE EXPLOITS OF ALL THE DIETYS. IT SEEMS LIKELY RECORDING THESE STORIES OF ROYALTY FOLLOWS THE SAME PATTERNS IN STORY AND ART.