A spotted deer from India

This enigmatic animal is a resin-cast replica of an early nineteenth century wooden (cedar) carved and painted toy that belonged to John & Elizabeth Macarthur's children at Elizabeth Farm, near Parramatta or, perhaps, to their grandchild at Camden Park. The original remains in the collection at Camden Park. The animal is probably a spotted deer or chital, indigenous to many parts of northern India, and the original toy is likely to be a product of the extensive hand-made wooden toy industry of Rajasthan. Brightly painted wooden or papier-mâché pull-along toys of elephants, tigers, camels, horses and a range of other animals were a celebrated product of the Rajasthani toy industry. Perhaps surprising, spotted deer were a common sight around colonial Sydney, first imported around 1803 by Surgeon John Harris. Within ten years he had around 400 spotted deer on his various properties including at his Ultimo estate. They were frequently hunted for sport by the gentlemen of the colony, though by the mid-19th century they were also sold as pets.