In search of antique pieces

Valuable pieces

There’s something especially charming about an antique; whether it’s the smell of vintage furniture or the dull lustre of antique brassware, Bangaloreans just can’t seem to get enough of them.

The problem, however, lies in the floating mass of replicas and rip-offs that most shops try to pawn off on their customers.

In fact, there are very few establishments in the City that house genuine antiques. Metrolife speaks to a few of them to find out more about their items and where they source them from.  

S V Ramachandran, the owner of ‘Qurio City Shop’, is visibly enthusiastic about his stock of prized antiques. “This shop was opened in 1996. We specialise in restoring old antiques, like lithographs, which are the steel engravings that were used before the printing technology was invented. We also work with dated photographs, which are more than a 100-years-old. In fact, some of them date to the 1860s or 1870s,” he says. The shop also stocks items like large antique cameras, Victorian furniture and rare chromoliths.

Balaji, one of the co-owners of ‘Rare Antiques’, another establishment that sells genuine antiques, says that they have a range of items at their shop.

“We have all kinds of old furniture as well as antique mechanical items like gramophones, typewriters and fans. We also have some wooden carvings and antique brassware,” he says, proudly.

Sourcing these kind of items can’t be easy, but Balaji says that he and his brother, Govardhan, have perfected the technique of procuring them efficiently.

“My brother and I personally travel all over India looking for these antiques. In some cases, we turn to dealers for help, and at other times we procure them directly. This is done by getting information from agents regarding family homes that might harbour antiques, and then approaching the families and asking them if they’re willing to sell these prized pieces,” he says.

Ramachandran, on the other hand, depends mostly on his dealers to procure his items.
“We have a network of dealers with whom we work. They buy these items from families, sourcing them from several areas like Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai,” he says.

Preetha, who owns a store named ‘Dhakshini’ in Domlur, says that the art of procuring antiques in India has gradually become more organised. “Sometimes, we travel a little to get our antiques, but we also have several sources that get them for us,” she says.

She adds that at times, they are approached by families who want to sell antiques in their possession, rather than the other way around.  “There is a lot of awareness these days about antiques in the market. Everybody knows their worth,” she explains. However, these attempts are sometimes misguided, and Preetha attributes this mainly to the fact that there is no concrete definition for the word ‘antique’.

“Some claim it must be at least 50-years-old, while some say it should be 100. Yet others believe that an antique is anything that’s unique, or one-of-its-kind. Just to be clear, I always specify that we want ‘old’ furniture,” she says.