Vermillion Theyyam Head – Hand-painted Kerala Art

The eye goes straight to the brow first — a bold black mask sweeping across the eyes, dense with fine gold dot-swirl patterns that catch the light before anything else on the face does. Tucked within that black band, almost secondary to it, sits a small silver crescent moon set with a gem. A pale blue-grey ekir, the long curved ornament worn over the mouth in Theyyam to suggest fierce, bared teeth, replaces the mouth entirely, and a black-and-white chevron base grounds the piece in bold graphic contrast to the vivid vermillion-red face above it.

Theyyam draws on an enormous vocabulary of facial motifs to distinguish one deity from another, and the black brow mask here, dense and commanding, is what carries this particular design rather than any single symbol within it. This head is hand-carved from solid wood, with the brow, dot-swirl detailing, and ekir all hand-painted by our studio artisans in fine, deliberate brushwork.

Its vivid red palette and graphic chevron base make this piece a genuine statement on a bookshelf, study desk, or console. It suits anyone drawn to Theyyam's bold, symbol-rich iconography rather than a purely ornamental design.

Material: Solid Wood, hand-carved and hand-painted.

Dimension: Head: 8 inches x 4 inches x 4 inches.
                    Including base: 13 inches x 4 inches x 4 inches.