Painted Wood Ganesh Riding Rat Statue 24"

The chubby, gentle, wise, elephant-headed Ganesh, or Ganesha, is one of Hinduisms most popular deities. He is the remover of obstacles, the deity whom worshippers first acknowledge when they visit a temple. He is also patron of letters and of learning; he is the legendary scribe who, using his broken tusk, which he often holds, wrote down parts of the Mahabharata epic. Ganesh is usually depicted colored red; he is pot bellied, has one tusk broken, and has four arms that may hold a pasam, a goad, and a pot of rice or sweetmeats. The sweet meats are held in a type of bowl known as a laddus. His appetite for these sweets is legendary and offerings of them are often left at his shrine.

Statues of Ganesh can be found in most Indian towns. His image is placed where new houses are to be built; he is honored at the start of a journey or business venture, and poets traditionally invoke him at the start of a book.

A pasam is a triple twine weapon. Each of the three twines represents, arrogance and conceit, Maya - the illusory nature of the real world, ignorance. In Hindu ideology weapons are a viewed as symbolic tools to destroy the ego rather than to cause any type of bloodshed. Goads (or elephant prods) are typically used to direct elephants. Goads are symbolic of how one should steer the soul away from the ignorance and illusions of this earthly world just as a mahout would steer an elephant away from any treacherous path.

Wood statues are easy to take care of as they just need some annual upkeep to keep them looking as they did when they were first carved. All the wood used by Lotus Sculpure's artists is dried out for months. Moisture causes cracks in the sculpture as the wood contracts and expands in different temperatures. Our wood has little to no moisture in it assuring that the sculpture is not going to crack in its journey into different climates. Here are some simple tips to keep your statue in good condition:

• Dust the statue as needed to prevent dirt build up
• To make the statue shine use a natural wood cleaner and a cotton cloth to buff the sculpture

We prefer Old English to polish and buff our statues. The use of a wood polish like Old English will keep the wood looking fresh and keep the colors looking vibrant. For natural wood and painted wooden statues we recommend Old English for lighter woods. For darker wood statues we recommend Old English for darker woods. Lotus Sculpture cleans and polishes each wooden statue prior to shipping them to the customer.

We recommend keeping wooden statues in an indoor environment. Wood statues can go outside however, they will wear more quickly and develop an antique appearance. If you would like to put a wood statue from Lotus Sculpture outside and keep the same appearance of the sculpture we would recommend first coating the statue with a couple of layers of sealant or polyurethane. We would then recommend placing the statue in a partially covered area. The more exposure to the elements the more the statue will wear over time. Please feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions regarding your wooden statue from Lotus Sculpture, (760) 994-4455 or [email protected].

USA Shipping

This sculpture is in our Oceanside, California store and ready for immediate shipping. The shipping charge is automatically calculated by UPS for shipping within the United States. Each sculpture is usually shipped within 24 hours of the order with the exception of the weekend.
You can obtain a shipping quote for any statue by clicking the link, Calculate Shipping beneath to the Add To Cart button on every statues' page.  Besides the shipping price, the results will also display the date the statue will arrive at your home. Lotus Sculpture uses Instapak foam injection packing system or bubble wrap and recycled peanuts to ensure that all our pieces arrive undamaged. Click here to learn more about Lotus Sculptures packing.

International Shipping

This sculpture is in our Oceanside, California store and ready for immediate shipping to anywhere in the world. ​International shipping charges will be calculated automatically upon checkout. ​
You can obtain a shipping quote for any statue by clicking the link, Calculate Shipping beneath to the Add To Cart button on every statues' page.  Or you can email [email protected] or call us 760-994-4455 to receive a shipping quote. Please include the item number of the statue you are interested in purchasing as well as your country and postal code.​ Lotus Sculpture uses Instapak foam injection packing system or bubble wrap and recycled peanuts to ensure that all our pieces arrive undamaged. Click here to learn more about Lotus Sculptures packing.