model;
gandau
- Museum number
- As1963,14.1
- Description
-
Carved wooden model gandau, in the form of a male figure with prominent nose and ears; eyes indicated with inlaid white stones and bared teeth. Figure wears a pointed hat. Hands are clasped in front and the feet are shoulder-width apart. Figure wears carved long-sleeved tunic with two bands crossing chest. Incised with geometrical lines (some of which are painted black) on hat, crossed bands, bottom skirt of the tunic and on knee patches. Three incised lines representing fingers.
- Production date
- 1923 (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 56 centimetres
-
Weight: 2.08 kilograms
-
Width: 18.40 centimetres
-
Depth: 12.50 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
Gandaus are traditionally carved by the Kalash people in Chitral, Pakistan. These figures are often carved from one piece of wood and take the form of of the deceased. They are usually erected over the grave by the son of the individual who has died.
-
The British Museum holds 11 examples of model gandaus dating from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. While these models resemble full-size gandaus, they were made for a different purpose: for sale to visitors to the region, and especially soldier-collectors from whose collections the majority of the model gandaus came to the British Museum. Model gandaus are still being made for sale to a foreign, increasingly tourist-driven, market.
Gandaus are life-sized male and female effigies carved from wood (usually deodar) by the Kalasha people in Pakistan and, formerly, by the Nuristani people in Afghanistan. Gandaus are often intricately carved, painted and draped with items of clothing. Considered to be imbued with the spirit of the deceased, the figures are placed near coffins. Notably, they are not exact portraits of the deceased but generally uniform and stylised representations. There are three types: standing, seated and equestrian figures. Male figures are more common than female and are generally carved either standing or on horseback, with the horse having either one or two heads. The two-headed horse figure is a particularly potent symbol of power, representing the highest status that can be accorded through a gandau to a Kalasha individual. Similarly, male figures carved wearing turbans denote authority and bravery. By contrast, women tend to be depicted seated on ornately carved chairs wearing caps with four horns. These horns refer back to the belief among the Kalasha that a goat born with four horns was an auspicious omen.
Captain Hector Bethune (As1930,0130.1; As1944,06.1) and Colonel G.C. Hodgson (As1951,01.1; As1951,01.2) acquired the four earliest examples of model gandaus in the Museum’s collection during the Relief of Chitral in 1895. Three models were made for Captain J.P. Sulley (As1930,1023.1; As1930,1023.2; As1930,1023.3) in Chitral, Pakistan, in 1915-16, arriving at the British Museum with a selection of photographs and a letter. Lieutenant-Colonel G.P.T. Dean (As1963,14.1) acquired one from Chitral in c.1923 and one came from the collection of Major-General S.H. Powell (As1931,1013.1). H.G. Beasley (As1930,0613.1) donated one, while there is no acquisition information associated with the final model (As1981,Q.45).
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1963
- Acquisition notes
- Acquired by G.P.T. Dean in 1923 while he was serving with the 14th Punjab Regiment in Chitral.
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- As1963,14.1