Nice vintage find out of an estate of a woman from the Southeast Asia country of India. A long thin rolling pin carved out of one piece of wood that is called a velan or belan. We were told by a relative handling the estate that her mother had used this for many years to make Chapati, an Indian flatbread.

From some internet research, Chapati (which is also spelled Chapatti, Chappati, Chapathi and Chappathi) is also known under the names roti, safati, shabatti, phulka and roshi. It is a common meal item not only in India but Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, East Africa and the Caribbean (it was brought to these countries by Indians who had traveled there). It is an unleavened flatbread made with a whole wheat flour, that uses this type of thin rolling pin to obtain the proper shape.

Measures about 13 1/4 inches length, with a greatest width and depth at the center of about 1 5/8 inches. There are carved circular grooves near each handle end that may help in use when rolling but could also permit attaching a string for hanging. Weighs slightly over 7 1/2 ounces unpacked.

We've provided 6 images to show different sides, aspects and angles. Please use the zoom feature to examine closely.

Very acceptable vintage used condition, but as expected shows much use and age wear. There are a number of thin horizontal hairline cracks (none of these threaten to break the rolling pin apart and appear to be surface cracks, but you can find/see these if you go looking). You can see in the images the darkening of the wood in many areas due to years of use. There are some gouges in the wood but these look like they are natural occurrences or perhaps part of the carving process, we're not sure. The surface of the wood shows other use wear via pitting, scrapes, scarring, scratches, etc. general wear. The outer ends are not perfectly round, but this may be a factor of hand carving or use/handling wear over time. But all of this adds to the character of this piece and the believability of age.

A neat addition to any collection of rolling pins or a general grouping of kitchen collectibles and vintage wood utensils.

Please note that we have many other kitchen items listed separately for sale. If you wish to purchase more than one, please e-mail us before placing the order since the shipping information has been inputted for a purchase of just one and will not calculate the savings you would get when purchasing more than one shipped together in the same package (we will need to handle this for you).