A walking elephant stands on a raw, knotty wooden base, as though about to take its next step. It was carved by hand in Indonesia. Its body is smooth with soft curves, and the details are carefully worked. The piece is about 10 cm tall and needs roughly 9 × 11 cm of space. You receive one carved elephant. Indonesia has elephants of its own, still living wild on the island of Sumatra.
What the elephant stands for
Elephants are traditionally linked with wisdom, protection and good luck. In India, Ganesha, the god of wisdom, is shown with an elephant's head, and by tradition he is called upon before anything new begins. This little carving captures a calm, strong stride and takes up very little room.
The base it walks on
Its base is parasite wood, cut from a plant that grows on another tree and lives off it. Such wood grows irregularly, so the surface is rough and the shape changes from piece to piece. That makes the smooth elephant stand out clearly against the raw base. No two are the same, and yours may differ slightly from the photos.
For elephant collectors
Plenty of people collect elephant figurines, pictures and jewellery. If you know such a collector, this hand-carved piece makes a good present. It fits on a desk or a bookshelf. If you already keep a few elephants in a glass cabinet, this wooden one sits comfortably beside glass and metal figures. The series also has other animals, such as an owl, a hummingbird and a sea turtle.
For dusting, use a soft brush, and keep it away from water, strong sun and radiators, which can dry the wood out.