VINTAGE INDIAN NANDI TOY HAND-CARVED WOOD 1920s RARE WHEELED VERSION

  

An unusually large, highly decorative Nandi hand-carved toy. In a previous incarnation this rare version, still mounted on a wheeled platform, would have been towed behind a small child. In Hindu folklore the humped bull. Nandi is the personal of. As gatekeeper to Shiva and Parvati, a seated Nandi stands guard at the entrance of temples dedicated to Shiva throughout India.

The Nandi on offer here would have played a role every bit as important. Mounted on a wheeled platform with a towing hook to the front leading edge, it would have spent many an hour trundling along behind a small child. Children, as Nandi knows to his cost, are no respecter of toys and, sadly, the wheels usually came off these early 20th c. IMAGES 10 - 13 AND A SEPARATE. Here is a rare opportunity to source one with the wheels still very firmly attached.

We personally took the last five images at Villa Helena in Puducherry earlier this year, where displays of vintage Nandi toys take pride of place. Please look carefully at the images as they form part of the description. You can follow us around India and the subcontinent on Instagram at lacewinginteriors. On the home page of the listing.