Elephant Stool Side Table - Natural Mango Wood, 3 Designs

A hand-carved mango wood elephant with a round table top across its back - fourteen inches high, eighteen across, and heavy enough to stay where you put it. It works as an end table, a nightstand or a plant stand, and it is the piece in the room people ask about.

Product details

• Approx. 14 inches high (13.8 in)
• 13 inch round top
• 18 inches across at the widest point, ear to ear
• Weight: 5,760 g (approx. 12.7 lb)
• Solid mango wood, hand-carved and hand-painted
• Made in India
• Arrives assembled - nothing to build
• Sold singly

What an elephant stool is

The carved elephant stool is a Rajasthani workshop staple - a low four-legged table with the animal's head, ears and trunk cut into the front and a round top across its back. It comes from the tradition of the caparisoned procession elephant, and it does the job of a side table while looking like nothing else in the room.

Why this one

5,760 g - just under 13 lb - of solid mango wood. That weight is the whole argument: it does not shift when you put a mug down on it, it does not need levelling, and at 18 inches ear to ear it holds a lamp, a stack of books and a cup at the same time. The painting is applied freehand over the carving, so the mandala on the top and the detail on the ears differ from one stool to the next.

Which colour

• Blue - blue and black floral top with a blue-painted trunk
• White - white mandala top, the quietest of the three
• Red - red and white floral mandala top

The body is bare mango wood on all three, so the grain shows and the piece reads as furniture rather than as an ornament. Only the top, the trunk and the trim are painted.

Where it goes

Beside a sofa or an armchair as an end table. As a bedside table in a room too narrow for a nightstand. Under a window as a plant stand. In an entryway holding keys and a lamp. In a nursery or a child's room, where the elephant is the point rather than the function. Two either side of a bed reads as deliberate; one on its own reads as found.

The rest of the family

The same stool is made in two finishes. On the painted versions the whole body is colour - these read as decor first. On the wood-finish versions the body is left as bare mango wood and only the top and the saddle are painted - these read as furniture first and sit more quietly in a room.

Painted bodies: black body, three tops, black body, orange top, red body, blue top, white body, red top. Wood finishes: dark brown wood, four tops.

Care

Wipe with a soft dry cloth. Keep water and cleaning sprays off the painted surface, and stand a wet glass on a coaster - the paint is hard-wearing but it is not a lacquered tabletop. Keep it out of direct all-day sun.

Frequently asked questions

Is the wood stained or natural?
Natural. The body is left unpainted so the mango grain shows, and only the top, the trunk and the trim carry colour. Grain differs from tree to tree, so no two bodies are the same shade.

Can I sit on it?
We sell it as a side table and a plant stand, and we do not publish a load rating for it, so we will not tell you it is a seat. It is solid mango wood on four carved legs and it takes the weight of a lamp, books or a large planter without complaint. If you want something to sit on, look at the charpai rope stools in the same collection.

How much will fit on the top?
The top is a 13 inch circle. A table lamp and a book, or a mug and a small plant, or a medium planter on its own. It is a side table rather than a coffee table.

Does it need assembly?
No. It arrives as one carved piece with the top fitted. Take it out of the box and use it.

Is it solid wood?
Yes - solid mango wood, carved rather than assembled from panels. At 12.7 lb for a 14-inch stool the weight is the check.

Will mine look exactly like the photograph?
Close, not identical. The mandala on the top and the detail on the ears and legs are painted freehand, so no two stools match exactly.

Can it go outdoors?
On a covered porch for an evening, yes. Not permanently - mango wood moves with humidity and the painted finish will lift if it is rained on or left damp.

What if it arrives damaged?
Shipping is insured. Photograph the damage, email contact@urliutsav.com, and we will replace it or make it right.

Can I return it?
Yes, within 30 days in original condition and packaging. Return shipping is arranged and paid by the customer, so measure your space first.

Can I order several?
Yes - they are ordered in pairs and in fours for events and hospitality. Email contact@urliutsav.com with your quantity and date and we will quote you.

Shipping and assurance

Free insured shipping across the USA and Canada. Ships from San Ramon, California, usually within one business day. The stool travels foam-secured and bubble-wrapped in a fragile-marked box. If it arrives damaged, send us a photo and we will resolve it - transit damage is covered.

See more of the range in our Table & Shelf Decor collection.