Indian Carved Panel Depicting Two Horse Heads

Every inch was carved. Then someone painted it, too, just in case.

This carved teak panel depicting two horse heads is from Gujarat, India, 19th century, in Burmese teakwood. Burmese timber came to Gujarat by sea, and the region's carvers used it on the elaborate wooden facades of merchant houses and on the fittings inside them. Two bold heads push forward from a field of interlaced lattice. At the left, a raised stepped section frames a small carved creature in a niche. Green paint lies over dark red ground throughout. Six inches deep, fifty-nine wide and sixteen high.

The small animal in the corner has clearly seen everything.