Mother India

Dimensions: 33cm high, 8cm wide
Code: CLAY 3021

Vintage terracotta figure of Bharat Mata (Mother India) from Tamil Nadu from the 1940s/50s. Bharat Mata is the national personification of India as a mother goddess She emerged in the late 19th century and her image became a symbol of India’s fight for independence and freedom. This piece shows her wearing a green sari, as well as a gold crown, necklace, and elaborate belt. She also has a garland of flowers around her neck that hangs down her sides.

Bommai are figures used for the display of dolls and figurines that takes place in South India during the Hindu festival of Navaratri, which is a nine-day festival celebrating the victory of good over evil. In Southern India the bommai are presented in the home on tier shelves, and friends and neighbours are invited to visit to view the displays and exchange gifts and sweets. There is evidence of this tradition dating back to the fourteenth century. Today, the exhibits are typically thematic, narrating a legend from a Hindu text or a secular cultural issue. The dolls are collected and passed on from one generation to another as an heirloom and new figures are added each year. These terracotta figures are also known as Kolu, Gombe Habba, Bommai Kolu, Bommalu Kolueru or Bommala Koluvu.