Personalised Family Crest – Brass Banyan Tree with Elephants

The Crest

A shield carrying a banyan, aerial roots dropping from its branches and a sun rising behind the trunk, held on either side by a caparisoned elephant with its trunk raised. A second banyan spreads across the crown of the shield. Lotus stems climb from the base. Below, a ribbon banner carries the family name, and a small tablet beneath it carries your line. The ground is blackened, so the gold reads from across a room.

The banyan is the tree that puts down new roots wherever its branches reach, and still counts as one tree. That is the whole idea, in a single image.

Craftsmanship

Real metal, formed over the sculpted shape rather than cast, so the elephants keep the pattern in their caparisons and the aerial roots stay separate instead of filling in. The metal is bonded to the surface, not painted or plated, so it will not chip, flake or peel. Raised gold, buffed back by hand, against a blackened ground: the same contrast that makes carved temple wood read at a distance.

Built to last

UV-protected and weather-treated after finishing. It is made for a wall inside the house, but it holds its colour in direct sun and through the monsoon, so a covered verandah or a porch wall is equally safe. No fading, no rust bleed, no repainting.

Personalisation

Two lines are yours: the family name across the ribbon banner, and the line on the tablet beneath it. Written in any language, English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali. Long names are welcome; the lettering is set to fit your name rather than your name cut to fit the banner. Send the spelling exactly as you want it and a design preview comes back by email before anything is made.

The lower line is usually the year the family home began, but it is yours to use. A village, a motto, a founding date, or nothing at all: leave it blank and the tablet is finished plain.

Want your own crest instead?

If your family already has a crest, or you have drawn one, take a photo of it and upload it with your order using the box on this page. We copy your design and put your name on it.

If you upload nothing, we make the banyan and elephants you see in the photographs, with your words on it. Either way a design preview is emailed to you first.

Specifications

• Material: Electroformed metal over a solid core
• Finish: Antique gold, raised and hand-buffed, on a blackened ground
• UV-protected and weather-treated, safe for outdoor use
• Sizes: 4x6 to 9x10 inches, portrait
• Depth: 0.5 in, with a 3 mm solid back
• Any language, any script
• Long names accommodated, lettering is sized to suit
• Made to order in our own workshop

The elephants and the lotus stems carry most detail at 6x8 and above. At 4x6 and 5x7 the flanking figures are simplified a little so the shield stays clean.

Mounting

Three ways, chosen at checkout.

• Peel-off tape: three sealed strips across the back, no drilling at all. Best on a tiled or granite surface, or anywhere you would rather not make holes.
• Keyhole slots: two screws in the wall and the crest lifts on and off. Simplest permanent fix, easiest to level.
• Floating stud mount: four threaded studs on reinforced bosses, set into the wall so the crest stands a few millimetres clear. Throws a shadow line under the shield and no fixing ever shows.

Where it works

A panelled study, the wall above a sideboard, a stair landing, the space over a desk, a reception wall in a family office. It holds a dark wall particularly well, where the blackened ground disappears and only the gold is left.

Gifting

A generous gift. A crest is the kind of thing a family is given rather than buys, which is exactly why it lands. Works well for a griha pravesh, a wedding anniversary for parents or grandparents, a retirement, and the first Diwali in a new house.

Care

Wipe with a soft dry cloth. No metal polish or scouring, the dark ground is meant to stay dark.