Step into The Oriental Haveli, an antique
 showroom
in Koramangala, where you will find thousands of
amazing antique artefacts and furniture. Tanjore
paintings, figurines of Indian gods, Victorian coach
lamps, chandeliers, Chinese jade snuff bottles,
Greek wall plates - the list of collectibles is
long. Started by three enterprising individuals,
Deepak Rupayana, Pushpa, and Vidya in
March 1998, the antiques at this showroom have been
painstakingly sourced from Royal households and
rich families in India.
For Mumbai born Deepak Rupayana, collecting
antiques was a hobby and today it is his main
business. He has been into antique collection
since 26 years. When asked about the features
he looks for in an antique piece before buying
it, he said, "They (antiques) should have
a resale value." The Oriental Haveli has
agents in major cities and other parts of the
country to procure the antiques. The items here
are in the price range of Rs
50 to Rs 10 lakhs and above. "Business is
really good. People in Bangalore are art lovers
and they have a taste for art and antiques,"
says Rupayana with contentment when asked
about the demand for his antiques
A three-foot high "Juan Period"
big vase and a laughing Buddha in Jade
Stone are worth mentioning here. "The
Chinese antiques are approximately 100 years old,"
says Rupayana. The vase has "Cantonese art"
on it. The other attractive items on display are
"willow art" wall plates, Navaratri
toys, carvings of "three wise men" in
bone china, a Victorian era queen bed in
Mahogany and teak wood combination.
According to Rupayana, they buy any valuable
antique not banned under  the
law. Rosewood furniture, Victorian dressers, old
Indian lanterns, grandfather clocks, hand painted
bone China artefacts, among others. A writing
desk, "Roll Top Desk", is a wonderful
furniture item here. "If you close the shutter
over the desk, the drawer below the desk will
automatically get locked!" says Pushpa,
another partner there, while demonstrating the
technique. An entire room is filled with Chinese
collectibles. These include porcelain sculptures,
miniature perfume bottles and sculptures of laughing
Buddhas.
The Oriental Haveli has another room full
of South Indian antiques. They include "Ghantas",
writing instruments for palm leaves used by ancient
writers, sharp weapons, bracelets, pocket watches,
Malayalam literature on palm leaves, heritage
wooden pillars and doors. The contemporary pieces
of art on display include hand crafted wooden
cradles for the Puja room, stained-glass bedside
lamps, and bronze sculptures.
Address:
The Oriental Haveli, No. 47/A,
4th Block, 17th Main, (100 ft. Road),
Koramangala, Bangalore-560034.
Telefax: 080- 2553 6239
| Text and
photos by Y Rama Mohan |
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