Hand-Painted Nandi Head Wall Sculpture – 6 Rustic Colours

How it is made

Each head is cut from a single block of mango wood and shaped by hand before any paint touches it. The painting is the slow part — fine brush line work laid over a base coat by artisans who have been painting this one form for years. The eye, the brow motif, the beaded collar: all freehand. What arrives is one craftsman’s afternoon of work, not a moulded copy off a line.

The six colours

• Dark Green — so dark it reads almost black, with deep red horns and a multicolour floral face panel
• Drift Wood — bare mango wood, white line work only, with small Warli-style figures painted along the muzzle
• Orangy Red — warm terracotta with green and black horn tips and a gold face panel
• Pirate Gold — ochre yellow with black-tipped horns and red detailing
• Rustic Red — deep red with blue and yellow horns and a gold and blue face panel
• Deep Sea Blue — strong blue with red and green horns and gold brow work

Where it goes

Farmhouse and rustic interiors, where the weathered palette does most of the work. Entryways, stair walls, above a bench or a console. Drift Wood in particular suits rooms that are already full of colour and cannot take more.

Hanging it

There is a keyhole slot in a flat plate on the back. Drive a screw or a nail with a head into the wall, leave it standing a few millimetres proud, and drop the keyhole over it. At 850 g a drywall anchor is plenty — but a bare pushpin is not enough to hold it. Screws and wall anchors are not supplied.

Care

Dust with a dry cloth. Keep it out of prolonged direct sunlight so the colours hold. Do not use water or solvent cleaners on the painted surface.