This early-1960s Chandy lion bottle topper was a new acquisition for the museum in February 2016 and with it being possibly the rarest Chandy lion figure of all, it only seemed right to devote this new page to it, rather than add it as a footnote to the existing Chandy lion page here.

 

We can say with confidence that this bottle topper is an extremely rare survivor, as it is the only one of its kind we have ever come across in years of searching obsessively for Chandy items for the museum. It is very unlike the later more three-dimensional Chandy lion bottle toppers which are comparativley common. The pictures below show the early-1960s (Mark I) bottle topper on the left with its later late-1960s/early-1970s (Mark II) counterpart on the right. Whereas the Mark II bottle topper is a three-dimensional plastic model of the Chandy lion (which is only fragile to the extent that these 'baby Chandy lions' are prone to losing their tails which can easily become snapped off), the Mark I bottle topper is an altogether more two-dimensional affair (as the side and reverse images below illustrate) and an altogether much flimsier item - so flimsy in fact that it is perhaps no great surprise that they have not survived in any number. As things stand ours is the only known survivor, but if you also have a Mark I Chandy lion bottle topper, do please let us know (email us here).