A Marvellous Elephant - Waddesdon Manor

This extraordinary musical automaton is a much loved icon of Waddesdon Manor. The gilt-bronze Elephant dates from 1774 and was made by the French clockmaker H Martinet. Records show that when the Shah of Persia stayed at Waddesdon, as a guest of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in 1889, he was so enchanted with the elephant that he asked for it to be played over and over again. Today the Elephant enchants visitors in the East Gallery of the manor, but due to its age and fragility it is rarely wound up. Follow Marvellous Elephant on Twitter @WMelephant See