Inlaid Elephant Statue Pair on Carved Plinths

The inlay is where all the work went, because every one of those small flowers and every line of the lattice is a separate piece of bone cut to shape and set into the wood by hand and this is the craft Jodhpur is known for more than any other.

On the back the pattern is a diamond net with a flower in every diamond, the same design as the jhool that goes over an elephant in a wedding procession or a temple festival.

Now about where they go. In a small flat there is no place for 2 elephants and they will look like they are waiting to be moved. They belong at an entrance, 1 on each side of the main door the way they stand at the gate of a haveli or in a big drawing room or in the reception of an office or a hotel where people walk past them every day. Once they are placed they do not move, because each one with its plinth is heavy enough that it takes 2 people, so decide the spot before they arrive.

Whoever comes in will stop at the door and put a finger on the inlay to check whether it is painted on or set in, and it is set in, so let them.