RSA Scottish Art
Shere Khan the Tiger
 | Artist: Phyllis Mary Bone |
| Title: Shere Khan the Tiger | |
| Year: 1930 | |
| Medium: bronze | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: Portraiture | |
| Source: RSA Diploma Collection | |
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| Open print version of this work | |
| Description: Phyllis Mary Bone specialised in animal subjects in both bronze and stone and her work can be seen on public buildings in Edinburgh.Shere Khan the Tiger was inspired by the writing of Rudyard Kipling. This powerful big cat is crouching low to the ground, as though advancing on some unwitting prey. The long slender tail, muscular shoulders and menacing head have been exaggerated to enhance the awesome power of this predator. The forward motion which Bone has suggested gives the animal a sense of being on the attack, almost frozen in time as he runs. The form is sleek, aerodynamic, and filled with tension.Bone has inscribed the animal's stripes across its back, creating a rhythmic, decorative pattern which imitates how we see it in nature but without the use of colour. The stripes also create contours which give definition to the animal's lean, muscular form. The surface of the piece has otherwise been carefully smoothed, and this is in keeping with the sense of a sleek animal passing silently through the jungle. Deep undercuts beneath the belly and under the front paw add to the challenging process of casting this piece. The black patina used to finish the surface also adds to the sense of menace.The artist is concentrating on creating a powerful creature rather than thinking of representing a tiger in a more illustrative way.In Kipling's Jungle Book, Shere Khan is a lame tiger who despises Mowgli the wolf-boy, wishing to kill and eat him. He is depicted as an arrogant and wayward animal, who enjoys attacking humans for sport and who manipulates other creatures in order to get his own way. So this sculpture of a wild animal is also suggesting that the tiger has emotional qualities like a human being. An attacking tiger is terrifying enough. Do you feel this tiger is more intimidating when it appears to have motives in the same way as humans do, rather than merely acting on animal instinct? | |