Makrana White Marble Chintamani of Theur on Gold-Leaf Singhasan, 18 in

Chintamani of Theur, one of the eight Ashtavinayak

Theur stands about 25 km east of Pune, near the meeting of the Mula-Mutha and the Bhima, and its Ganpati is one of the eight Ashtavinayak swaroops. The name comes from the Chintamani, the wish-granting jewel that Ganapati recovered from the prince Gunavanta and returned to the sage Kapila, who then tied it around Ganapati's own neck; chinta means worry, and Theur is where the tradition sends those carrying it. The murti in the sanctum is swayambhu, faces east, and turns its trunk to the left, with jewels set into the eyes. This 18-inch murti follows that reading: seated and four-armed, the jewel resting at the throat, the trunk curling to his own left so that it falls to your right as you stand in front of him.

Makrana white marble, and why it suits this form

Makrana is quarried in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan and has been worked for centuries — it is the marble that faces the Taj Mahal. It is a dense calcite stone, low in porosity, and it holds fine detail without crumbling at the edges, which is what a form like this one asks for: the fold of the ears, the break in the right tusk, the beaded band across the mukut. It stays white rather than yellowing with age. This block is finished to a soft satin polish, bright but short of mirror, so the surface still reads as stone and the carving keeps its shadows. Faint grey hairline veining runs through natural Makrana; it is a mark of the quarry rather than a fault, and no two blocks carry it the same way.

The gold leaf and the singhasan

The mukut, the necklace, the armlets, the waist chain and the borders of the dhoti are laid in gold leaf over ornament that is cut in full relief first, so the leaf follows carving that is already there instead of standing in for it. Against Makrana white the effect is the shringar of a dressed pandal murti, held permanently in the stone. The singhasan is carved from the same block: a low throne with scrolled arms, turned finials at the corners and a stepped plinth, so the murti arrives already elevated and needs no separate chowki. The mushak sits at the base on his left, looking up. The modak is in the lower left hand, the right hand is raised in abhaya, and the upper pair carry the goad and the noose.

Sizing an 18-inch murti for your mandir

Eighteen inches to the top of the mukut is the size most home mandirs are built around — large enough to preside over a shelf or a marble temple, small enough that the puja thali and diyas in front of it still have room. Allow about 9 inches of width and 8 inches of depth, and keep a hand's width of clear space above the crown, since nothing should sit over the deity's head. The finished piece weighs close to 13 kg, so a fixed marble or hardwood shelf holds it more safely than a light bracket. An east- or north-facing placement at seated eye level is the usual choice for a Ganpati at home. The same form is carved at 12, 24 and 36 inches if this height sits wrong in your space.

Making it yours

Every piece is made to order. We work through the choices with you — stone, height, how much of the ornament is gilded, whether the plinth carries a family name or an installation date — then brief the sculptor, follow the work through each stage, and see it delivered to your door. Ask at the start if you would rather have this Chintamani in plain white with no gilding, in black stone, or at temple scale: the swaroop stays fixed, the treatment is yours to set.