VINTAGE INDIAN NANDI TOY HAND-CARVED WOOD EX WHEELED TOYS 1920s

  

Three highly decorative Nandi hand-carved toys on platforms. In a previous incarnation the platforms would have had wheels and towed behind a small child. In Hindu folklore the humped bull. Nandi is the personal of. Or vahana, of the deity Shiva.

As gatekeeper to Shiva and Parvati, a seated Nandi stands guard at the entrance of temples dedicated to Shiva throughout India. 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, they would have spent many an hour trundling along behind a small child. IMAGES 19 AND A SEPARATE.

Children, as these Nandis know to their cost, are no respecter of toys and, sadly, the wheels came off these early 20th c. Not that that in any way detracts from their appeal. We personally took the last four 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.

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