Hindu Bronze Horse and Chariot Temple Toy on Wheels India 1950s Collectible

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Antique hindu bronze Temple horse and chariot statue toy on wheels.
This collectible bronze temple toy horse is heavy and … Read more Antique hindu bronze Temple horse and chariot statue toy on wheels.
This collectible bronze temple toy horse is heavy and the sculptural details are full of artisanal charm and irregularities.
The wheels turn independently of the iron axles, and it has clearly been loved and well used by generations of children.
Antique cast brass iron horse and chariot Indian temple toy.
The horse and chariot both have wonderful detail, the wheels roll freely.
This unique Hindu temple toy piece is: 5. 1/2" tall and 8" long x 4.5 " Wide.
In great condition with a nice aged patina. Handcrafted in India, would make a beautiful statement on a desk or bookshelf.
Commonly known as "Temple Toys," these cast brass figures date back to the early-to-Mid-19th Century India.
They were mainly used as devotional donations for Khanodba and Shiva in Central India, as well as Ayyannar and Karuppan in Tamil Nadu.
Dating from the last half of the 19th century, this was a temple offering, left by the devout at Hindu temples this bronze temple toy would have been given to the children waiting for their parents during temple services in India.
Since ancient times, a person was held in high esteem for the donation of a horse or other animal to one of the Gods.
It was believe that these bronze figures allowed the God to come to the aid of the devotee in times of need.
These figures would be left as offerings in a nearby temple, where children would often find them and use them as toys; hence the name "Temple Toy.
" Antique East Indian Temple Toys, Devotional Shrine Brass Horse and Chariot on Wheels, Hindu, Collectible, Cast Metal Horse, Museum.
Cast bronze horse with elaborate caparisoned high pommelled saddle and trappings, and a braided mane and tail, the legs ending in wheeled axels the chariot.
From the Art collection of Marian and John Scott.
Acquisition date: 1969.

Purchased from the amazing private collection of Mark Lissauer who spent his life collecting niche ethnographic pieces.
About Mark Lissauer:
Mark Lissauer spent forty years travelling abroad for months at a time collecting ethnographic artefacts primarily from New Guinea and the islands of the West Pacific, and from Asia and Himalayan countries. Fluent in five languages and having in the course of business travelled to more than forty countries, Mark is well-known to museums and art-collectors around the world for his long career and his interesting and diverse collection of rare ethnographic material.
Mark knows the origin and symbolism of each piece. Through extensive research and more than ninety trips around the globe, Mark familiarised himself with the traditions of the various cultures he visited in order to understand the meaning of each object to its region and tribe. His home has a specialist library and several rooms are filled with tribal carvings, textiles and ethnographica.
He acquired his first tribal piece in 1948 during a business trip to Milne Bay, New Guinea, and has since documented the acquisition of some 35,000 items. Several thousands of these have been sold to important private collections and museums worldwide, including the Rockefeller Museum, the British Museum and the Musée National des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie, now incorporated into the Louvre Museum.
Estimator by Wayne Heathcote Tribal Art Dealer and Expert.
Heathcote has a flash gallery in Brussels, where much of the tribal art business is centred, and is an expert at Sotheby's tribal art sale, one of two it holds each year in New York.
Many of the pieces in the sale also bore his provenance, proudly stated by vendors in the catalogue. See less