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Rare Lucky Elephant Seed Bean Hand carved tiny Elephants vintage Mother’s Day!

$ 15.83

Availability: 10 in stock
  • Item must be returned within: 14 Days
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: India
  • Refund will be given as: Money Back
  • Animal Class: Elephant
  • Condition: New
  • Handmade: Yes
  • Return shipping will be paid by: Seller
  • Restocking Fee: No
  • All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
  • Brand: Hand Made

    Description

    Thank you for looking at my listing. Up for your Consideration is a special “lucky” seed with tiny elephants inside! These first appeared approximately 60 years ago and were carved in ivory or bone. I found about 20 of these in an antique store in a small antique jewelry box. I believe they are vintage and handmade either from thin pieces of ivory or bone. This makes a unique gift!!
    The pod is slit across the top, hollowed out, and left to dry. A series of elephants is then carved and placed inside, with a slightly larger elephant carved to seal the mouth of the tiny Circassian seed. Inside the seed are approximately 9-12 tiny carved elephants. Keep in mind the size of these carvings, sometimes a little imagination is needed.
    History:
    The seed pod comes from the red sandalwood tree (Adenanthera pavonina) a beautiful tree of the legume family (Fabaceae) with pinnately compound leaves and dense racemes of fragrant, creamy-yellow blossoms. It is also called the "bead tree," "necklace tree," and "peacock flower-fence." On many islands of the Caribbean, the bright red seeds produced by this tree are known as "jumbie beads."
    Hindu legend states that the owner of this seed will be granted a secret wish for each miniature hand-carved elephant contained inside. As the Circassian seed comes from the "kunda-mani" which is the "good luck tree" of India. Known as manjadikuru in India—Circassian Seeds in the United States and Britain, and Jumbie Beads in the Caribbean—the little elephant-filled seed cases are good-luck charms sometimes described as "magical seeds".
    Of all the thousands of species of seed-bearing plants on earth, Circassian seeds are certainly one of the most beautiful. The naturally-shiny, bright red seeds are used for leis, necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rosaries throughout the Old and New World tropics. They have a remarkably uniform weight, each seed weighing about four grains. It takes about four seeds to make one gram, and approximately 109 of them to make an ounce.
    Thousands of years ago, goldsmiths of Asia used the red seeds in their scales to weigh precious gems, gold and silver. A pearl or diamond weighing 20 grains would be roughly equivalent in weight to five shiny Circassian seeds.