Lord and Lady Curzon atop the elephant Lakshman Prasad

Leading the state entry procession was the Viceroy, Lord Curzon. He and Lady Curzon alighted at the railway station at Delhi, and there they mounted a stately elephant, called Lakshman Prasad. The beast had been lent by the Maharaja of Benares, as the Viceroy’s establishment no longer maintained elephants. The photograph highlights the rich trappings–the gold embroidered (zardozi) scarlet velvet jhul, or cloth covering, the silver howdah bearing the royal arms on the side panels, and the silk and gold woven fabric umbrellas.