ORNAMENT; CAMEL & RIDER WITH DRUMS
c. 1850Hand carved & painted wooden toy.
The rider, camel & base are carved from one piece of wood, the drums are attached seperately with a screw.
The camel is a dromedary (one humped) with painted saddle cloth, head piece and neckbands in red, green, blue, purple, and white.
The male rider is depicted with a green tunic patterned white with red trim, with leggings of yellow and red stripes and wearing blue pointed shoes.
He has a turban on his head, which is patterned and banded in several colours including red, green, and white.
The face depicts a moustache of exaggerated form which joins his sideburns, and has darkly outlined eyes.
The costume and appearance suggest a far eastern [Persian] origin. Arabic and Indo-China influences - possibly Rajasthan?
The drums are of gourd shape, patterned with a floral design with squares on a blue background.
Possibly sourced through Afghan cameleers.
Possibly through horse dealing trade links with India by several local families, notably Phillips?
