Puja Singhasan in Carved Teak with Om Medallion and Lion Arms

The two twisted columns beside the back look like they were made on a machine that spins and cuts at the same time. They were not, and there is a simple reason a spiral cannot be marked out by eye.

The column is turned round on the lathe first, as a plain cylinder. Then the lathe stops, because the spiral has to be drawn on a stationary piece - and a helix drawn freehand on a curved surface always wanders, because there is no straight reference anywhere on a cylinder to judge it against.

So a long strip of paper is wound around the cylinder at a constant angle, its edge held tight against itself turn after turn. That edge is a true helix: the geometry of wrapping guarantees it, whatever the carver's eye thinks. A pencil run along the paper edge transfers it to the wood, the paper comes off, and the line is exactly right.

After that it is hand work - a saw cut down the line to depth, then rasps and files opening the groove out into a rounded hollow, and the ridge between the turns shaped by hand along its whole length. Two columns, cut in opposite directions so the pair mirrors rather than repeats. The setting out takes minutes. The cutting takes a day.

Frame: solid teak throughout, hand-carved and hand-turned by master Indian artisans, with traditional joinery at every junction.

Crest: pierced carving with an Om medallion at the centre between two carved birds.

Back: arched panel with an Om medallion above a row of small drilled openings, framed by carved borders.

Columns: hand-cut twisted rope columns either side of the back, capped with spire finials.

Arms: resting lions carved in the round over carved side panels.

Seat: wide open solid teak platform.

Apron: deep carved panels across the front and both sides.

Legs: carved cabriole legs finishing in paw feet.

Finish: light natural teak hand polish as photographed. Any tone can be matched, and gilded or coloured highlights can be added.

Cushion: none as photographed. A fitted cushion in any fabric can be made for the seat.

Size: custom sizes made to order - final measurements confirmed in writing before production.

Photography: images on this page are of the actual product, not renders.

The spiral columns and the spire finials sit at the corners of this piece, which makes them the first things any impact would reach - so they are packed as a unit rather than individually wrapped.

A foam sleeve runs the full height of each column so the spiral is supported continuously along its length rather than held at two points, and the spire finial above gets its own collar. The pierced crest is supported with foam fitted into its voids so the carved bridges cannot flex, with a foam frame around its outer edge.

The lions' heads and paws, the arch borders and the paw feet each get shaped collars, and the apron panels are protected with a continuous foam strip on all three carved sides. A soft non-abrasive layer covers all the polished surfaces first - on a light natural teak, marks show more readily than on a dark polish. Corrugated panels then build a rigid shell around the piece, base blocked and braced, outer carton edge-reinforced. It all unwraps by hand.

Free PAN-India delivery is included in the price - no zone rates, no distance surcharge, no separate freight line at checkout. The same cost delivered to Mangalore as to Muzaffarpur.

Dent-free arrival is guaranteed. The piece leaves in multi-layer protective packaging, travels with handlers briefed on pierced, turned and figure carving, and is checked at each transfer point. If anything is not right when you open it, tell us and we make it right - the guarantee is ours to honour rather than the transporter's.

Because it is carved to order, production begins once your size, motif and finish are confirmed in writing. If the singhasan is being built around a particular murti, send its measurements at enquiry so the seat and the arch are scaled correctly around it. We give a realistic timeline in writing, keep you updated as the work progresses, and send a dispatch note with an expected delivery window.

The solid teak frame and joinery are covered for 20 years - the legs and apron, the seat platform, the lion arms and side panels, the twisted columns, the arched back and the crest above it. If a joint opens or a member fails inside those twenty years, we repair or replace it.

A lifetime warranty against termite damage runs alongside it and never expires. Teak's natural oils are why termites leave it alone, and our seasoning and finishing routine is built around preserving them, so we guarantee the timber for as long as the piece is yours.

The twisted columns are the part owners ask about, because a cut spiral looks fragile. They are covered like everything else - each is worked from a single solid section rather than being built up, so there is nothing in them to come apart. All of it holds because the singhasan is made from start to finish in our own workshop by the master Indian artisans who build everything we sell, from timber we season ourselves.