Antique Marapachi Bommai

Dimensions: Man 24cm high, 8cm wide; woman 23cm high, 8cm wide.
Code: WOOD 0821

This elegant pair of Marapachi bommai (wooden dolls) were hand-carved from red sandalwood in the Kalahasti area of the central state of Andhra Pradesh in the early 1900s. This delightful couple have some remnants of gold leaf, and paper clothes that they would have been dressed in. These figures are an important part of South Indian culture and rituals and are normally passed from one generation to the next within a family. Often, they are symbolically gifted from mothers to a newlywed couple for their future children to play with. They are also proudly displayed during the Golu festival, which is part of the Navratri festival leading up to Diwali. They would make a splendid engagement or wedding present.

Red sandalwood grows in the southern Eastern Ghats mountain range of South India. Due to its slow growth and rarity, this wood was highly prized in India and China. To protect these trees, it has since become illegal to fell them, which makes these early pieces even more rare.