Art, symbolism, and sovereignty: elephants as living regalia in the Malay court of Perak

This study looks at the elephant as animate regalia in Southeast Asian royal culture, specifically the Sultanate of Perak. While regalia are generally synonymous with inanimate objects such as crowns, swords, and thrones, elephants, particularly white or ceremonially enhanced elephants, were mobile, sacred manifestations of ruling authority. Drawing on chronicles, oral tradition, and court practice, the essay illustrates how elephants such as Kulup Chandan, Larut, and Chapang Pileh were deployed in ritual, diplomacy, and symbolic articulations of kingship. Through interdisciplinary approaches, the study brings elephants back in as agents of royal authority, extending from MalayMuslim myth, art, and political theology to wider Southeast Asia