Wooden Nandi Statue - 9-Inch Hand-Carved, 10 Colours

Why this one

860 g of solid mango wood - a pound and a bit - carved in the round rather than pressed or cast, so the fold of the dewlap and the turn of the head read from any angle. The painting is Rajasthani folk work: a flat ground colour with floral and dot detailing laid over it freehand, the horns and hooves picked out separately. Ten colours, which is more than we offer on anything else, and no two carvings are quite the same shape.

Which colour

• Red Baron - deep red with contrast floral work
• Sunrise Orange - warm orange, one of the brightest
• Lemon Chrome - clear yellow
• Warm Pink - soft pink with green detailing
• Purple Iris - deep violet
• Electric Blue - bright mid blue
• Imperial Blue - the darker, more traditional blue
• Leafy Green - a fresh mid green
• Cadmium Green - a warmer, yellower green
• Fence Green - the deepest of the three greens

There are three greens and two blues in the range, and the names are the artisan's rather than a paint chart. Look at the photographs before choosing - the difference between Cadmium and Fence Green is real but not large.

Where it goes

Facing the mandir, which is where a Nandi traditionally sits - at the entrance to the pooja room or on the shelf below the deity, looking toward it. Otherwise: a console, a bookshelf, a desk, or an entryway table. At nine inches it holds a shelf without dominating it, and the colour is bright enough to carry a corner on its own.

Gifting

A griha pravesh and housewarming gift, particularly for a Shaivite household. Also given at Maha Shivaratri and as a Diwali gift. It is the piece to choose when you want something recognisably devotional that is still, plainly, a beautiful object.

Care

Wipe with a soft dry cloth, working into the carved detail with a soft brush. Keep water and cleaning sprays off the painted surface. Painted mango wood does not like standing damp or direct all-day sun.