Collecting Antique Elephants. Illustrated examples and value of antique elephant collectibles. Including elephant coins, clocks, and figurines.

Michael D. Knapik is an obsessed elephant collector (among other things)! In addition to amassing over 3000 elephant collectibles, he turned his obsession into an avocation: he wrote the recently published: Everything Elephants: A Collector's Pictorial Encyclopedia,, the first and only book devoted to elephant collectors. To learn more about Michael Knapik visit EverythingElephants.com.

When Michael started writing the encyclopedia, he knew it would take multiple volumes to come close to doing justice to such a widespread and varied collectible topic such as elephants. The categorical variety is amazing. If an item was made, there is probably one version of that type of item with an elephant on it or accompanying it in some artistic fashion.

There are probably a couple hundred categories of elephant items. There are 140 categories in Volume 1 of the EE Encyclopedia and more will be added. Not only is the breadth amazing, but the elephant theme, or motif, adorning things cultural, crosses boundaries of time as well. Reaching as far back as the cave drawings of woolly mammoths to present day, a few thousand years of elephant collectibles exist. This article concentrates on elephant items at least 75-100 years old and older - sometimes much older - true antiquities.

Antique elephants span fewer categories than all possible categories. In other words, there are obviously no truly antique Disney or PEZ elephants, nor are there any antique matchbook covers (but there are elephant matchholders!) etc. But there are still many categories of elephant collectibles that sport at least one older representative - allowing the elephant collector to concentrate on old elephant collectibles.

When collecting, in general, but especially with older specimens, it is wise to first 'collect" an understanding and information about particular items. Learn how to determine original from fake or reproduction elephants. Because antique elephants are going to command higher prices in general, learn as much as you can before committing to a big dollar old elephant!

The antique elephant market is a microcosm of the elephant-collecting market writ large. Supply, demand, rarity and specific, fashionable collecting interests drive markets. Antique elephants get more attention, more bids at auctions, and have a cachet that is hard to characterize, but definitely affects perception. Something that is old has a draw to it. That some elephant artifact or collectible exits from before most anything else (as a cave drawing!), to the present, provides you with a vast array of older elephants that engage your desires (you elephant collectors know what is meant here - you just have to have it!)

One of the more engaging categories in which to find antique elephant collectibles is Coins and Tokens. Most of that draw is because you can collect some seriously-old, valuable elephant things, in a small package, all the while enjoying the intricate metallurgical artistry. You can easily appreciate the artistry displayed on planchets of metal, and elephant art on coinage can be found throughout the ages. And in no other category, (even philately), is such a premium placed on condition - even for extremely old coins. For example, one of the earliest elephant coins - the Caesar Denarius shown below in Image 001 is in a condition that is hard to find. Think of how long that coin has been in existence compared to most anything else you may have come across in your antiquing career and appreciate the fact that it is still in one of the topmost conditions assigned to coins.

(Image001)
Julius Caesar silver denarius depicts an elephant trampling a serpent - said to mean Caesar defeating his enemies - in extra fine (EF) condition. 49-48 B.C. $1000-1500. Courtesy Of: Classical Numismatic Group's June, 1999 Auction Catalog.

Racing ahead about 1700 years, some early American colonists used the elephant coin shown in Image 002. There are several varieties all dating from between 1666 and 1694. The circumstances of their manufacture and distribution remain clouded.

(Image002)
Elephant 1/2 Penny (farthing) London Elephant Token, thick planchet, certified by PCGS as MS-63 brown. This coin is quite rare in this condition, as only 1 coin is certified in MS64, and 8 coins are certified in MS63. 1" D. c. 1666. $3500. Courtesy Of: Author

There are hundreds of examples of elephant coins dating back hundreds of years including many gold coins that were minted in India and throughout Asia, as is shown in Image 003

(Image003)
Ceylon bronze-over-copper 1/48th Rupee "pattern" coin (normal runs were copper) in certified Proof-63 condition. Krause # KM-75. 1802. $150-225. Courtesy Of: Anthony's Stamps and Coins, www.astampcoin.com.

Another category with a good representation of antique elephants is clocks! Many ornamental bronze clocks were made in Europe during the 1800s, especially by the French. as Images 004 and 005 illustrate.

(Image004)
Bronze clock with wind-up movement by Gustav Becker who founded his clock factory in 1848 in Silesia and continued through the 1890s. He won a design award in 1852 and a Medal of Honor, which became part of the trademark and is stamped on the back of the movement. 13" H x 9" L. late 1800s. $1200-1700. Courtesy Of: copyright: Archivator (Budnitski Vladimir).

(Image005)
Rare 19th Century French signed, gilt and bronze elephant mantel clock. Eight day movement with striking on a bell on the hour and half hour. Outside counterwheel. Movement is stamped "Japy Freres and Cie" "Med. D'Honneur". White enamel dial with blue Roman numerals. Seated oriental man holding a parasol above the clock dial being carried on an elephant's back. Mounted on a scroll base. 16.5" H x 14" W x 5" D. 1800s. $2500. Courtesy Of: Stella

Of course, there are many antique pottery elephants. Pottery has been made for a long time and the elephant was one of the first animals to be portrayed as or upon a piece of pottery. Certain areas of Europe sprouted many pottery makers and factories over the last 200 years or so, and therefore, there are many different antique elephants from European potteries. Image 006 shows a typical elephant from the Staffordshire area of England in the 1800s. Other typical Staffordshire elephants incorporated spill vases into the figurine.

(Image006)
A figure of Jumbo, P.T. Barnum's famous circus elephant who died in 1885. Made by Parr and Kent in Staffordshire, England. Title in raised capitals reads "JUMBO." It is decorated with majolica glazes and has blue eyes. 11.5" H x 10" L. c.1882. $500-800. Courtesy Of: Monique and Patrick Kelley.

Meissen, Bretby, Nymphenburg and Amphora are among other makers of antique pottery elephants. The Amphora factory was located in the Teplitz-Turin area of Bohemia during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, according to (Kovel, Kovel's Antiques and Collectibles Guide of 1999). There are several great-looking (and relatively rare and expensive) elephants from factories in this area, including the one shown in Image 007.

(Image007)
Rare Amphora porcelain figurine. This figurine has "1034" impressed on stomach and 2 gold lines on foot. 2.875" H x 4" L. 1890-1910. $300-500. Courtesy Of: Terry Wurden.

Pottery tiles with elephants (and other motifs) were created by potteries in the Delft area of Holland. Image 008 shows a tile that was made in a northern province called Friesland. Other, earlier Delft tiles have a blue elephant on them and date back to the 17th century!

(Image008)
Polychromed Delft elephant tile 5" H x 5" L". 1800s. $100. Courtesy Of: Author.

Elephants from the religious category include Ganesha, Gajendra, and several other Gods or their worshippers riding atop elephants, from many places around the world. There are even certain nativity sets sporting elephants, but one wonders whether the actual historical nativity scene had an elephant! Ganesha is probably the most well-known religious-elephant icon. According to www.indiancultureonline.com, Ganesha, also called Ganapati, is the god of wisdom, prudence, and salvation and is the most widely-worshipped deity dating back to near 500 AD. So antique elephant lovers can easily get their fill by collecting 19th century and earlier Ganeshas and other religious elephants, as shown in Images 009x and 010x.

(Image009x)
Marble Ganesha from Mandalay, Burma. 34" H. c. 1800. $4500-6500. Courtesy Of: Abraham International at www.energycenter.com.

(Image010x)
Chola dynasty Indian bronze figurine of Gajendra - the lord of the elephants, with verdigris patina. It has lotus flower petaled torch in trunk and flame aurealla on back and is situated on a stepped base. Serpent head tail holders and bead form trappings. 3" H x 4" L. c.10-12th century. $350. Courtesy Of: Author.

Another interesting category wherein one can find antique elephant examples is Lamps. Not the electric variety - but oil lamps. Both metal and pottery lamps were made for hundreds of years before electricity was widespread. Elephant motifs were no stranger to lamp makers as Images 011x and 012x show.

(Image011x)
Ornate Victorian bronze oil lamp with removable bowl that fits into urn on top of elephant's back. Elephant is in parade regalia and urn has lion masks and caryatids and receptacles for lighting wands. 6.5" H x 7" L. 1800s. $150-200. Courtesy Of: Author.

(Image012x)
Terra cotta Roman oil lamp. 1" H x 3.25" L. est. 300 AD. $150-250. Courtesy Of: Ardre of articcoin.com.

Finally, some of the most collectible antique elephants of all are Bronze figurines, especially by the French in the 1800s and early 1900s. One of the most sought-after elephant bronzes in that time frame is the "Elephant du Senegal", or Running Elephant bronze, by the well-known French sculptor, and father of the Animalier School, Antoine-Louis Barye. You find his works in the Louvre in Paris and in other great museums. Image 013x shows the Running Elephant by Bayre.

(Image013x)
"Elephant du Senegal". sculpture is signed "Barye" with the foundry mark of "F. Barbedienne. Fondeur". It also has a gold-plated mark " FB " by the same foundry. 5.2" H x 7.2" L. c. 1900. $7500. There are many reproductions bringing in the range of $1500-5000. Courtesy Of: Ulrich Wagner.

Although antiquing in general is fun, when you combine it with a love of elephant collectibles, as well as for other categories of collectibles (like lamps or coins), you can get double or triple the bang for your collecting buck. Several other categories that have antique elephant pieces include: inkwells, banks, bookends, ivory carvings, incense burners, drawings and paintings, poker chips, photos, and cigar cutters. So get out there and find your antique elephants!

This article's author is also the author of Everything Elephants: A Collector's Pictorial Encyclopedia,, the FIRST collectibles book that provides images, information and a value guide about a wide range of elephant collectibles. Let's face it, elephants are in millions of homes, signifying their desirability. What the market has not had is a book like this compendium of elephant collectibles by an obsessed elephant lover and elephant collector. Published by Schiffer Publishing LTD., it has over 1000 color images in 140 categories.

Most major manufacturers, artists and eras (spanning 450 BC to the present) have representative pieces here, including: Aronson, Bayre, Bratsoff, Goebel, Lladro, Loetz, Meissen, Nast, Neiman, Passman, Ronson, Royal Doulton, Royal Haeger, Shawnee, Swarovski, Vanderveen, Wedgewood, and hundreds more.

Plans for follow-on volumes: this book is structured for expansion via follow-on volumes; work on Volume 2 is already in progress. Michael plans to create the world's seminal pictorial reference series on elephant collectibles by depicting several thousand items. This is an all-digital project and Schiffer's first such all-digital project!

If you know any elephant collectors - please pass this on to them! I am looking for other collectors to submit digital images for this project. A JPEG flyer with an image of the front cover is available.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book goes to elephant conservation societies and groups.

Ordering Information: Order direct from the author at a 20% discount from retail. He'll sign your copy and inform you about future volumes and an elephant collectibles website he's building! Retail price: $30 less 20% = $24 + $4 S&H = $28.00. Insurance in USA (Optional) = $1.30 (Total = $29.30) International buyers let me know your address so I can calculate shipping to your location. Payment types accepted: Check, Money Order, Cashiers Check: Send to: Michael Knapik, 15804 East Greystone Drive, Fountain Hills, AZ., 85268. Paypal, Billpoint (Id = conscioussystems@mindspring.com).
Or purchase Everything Elephants: A Collector's Pictorial Encyclopedia from AllElephants!