Painted Surya Wall Temple From Bikaner - 19th Century Indo Dutch dining room sideboard or hallway

dining room sideboard or hallway console

and like its namesake

This antique brass food caddy from northern India dates to around the 1950s and would once have been used for storing staples such as rice

5 x D2 x H29 cm

or humped Indian bull would have been an important part of daily ritual for a Kondh (also spelt "Khond" or "Gond") family

Painted Surya Wall Temple From Bikaner - 19th Century Indo Dutch dining room sideboard or hallwayThis beautiful and unusual painted Indian wall temple is from the desert town of Bikaner in Northern Rajasthan. The canopy is of Rajput design and beneath it is a beautifully painted depiction of Surya the Hindu sun god. Surya is the personification of the sun and by extension, the source of all knowledge and the laws that govern the universe and society. He was an important deity in rural areas as the sun has the power to grant or withhold the