Exquisite artefacts of the discerning

Fine Living

Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.’ - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Indeed, art connoisseurs trek the world over to acquire the most exquisite and antique dinnerware sets existent. But to the delight of such crockery-lovers, these artefacts were brought together under one roof in Delhi by an art consultancy called Interarts recently.

The venue, The Library at The Lodhi Hotel, glittered with the sparkle of these articles and their elegance as celebrated European brands in crockery and home decoration exhibited old-world teapots, bespoke bone china cups and saucers, finely painted lamps and vases and glass sculptures. Not just that, some well-renowned artists in fine dinnerware were also present at the event to educate the interested in how this craft is carried out. 

The event was an exhibitors’ pride and visitors’ delight.

Owner of Interarts, UK-based Purnima Sethi, who also happens to be a passionate art collector, informed Metrolife, “My husband Sunil and I have always been fascinated by beautiful crockery. After we moved to UK 24 years back, the exposure gave us an instinctive understanding of the meeting ground between sophisticated, international merchandise and Indian sensibilities in dinnerware and home decorations.”

“Over time, we earned a unique professional standing as a gateway for the best European objet ’d art in India and here we are with ‘objet d’art elegance’. We started with a four brands representation; the first exhibition in India was in 2008, and today, we showcase 35 brands, with a collection of over 2,500 products.”

The brands from across Europe, which participated in this exhibition, included names like Amanda Brisbane, Giuseppe Armani, Royal Dux, Rare Lladro figures, Shakespeare Glass, Moorcroft, Falken Porzelain, Felix Bronze, Okra, Poole Pottery, Royal Minton, Ian Mcdonald, Stuart Crystal, Helen Millard and Vista Allegra. 

In this showing, Interarts introduced exquisite dinnerware and ceramic creations by Royal Crown Derby and Aynsley Porcelain from United Kingdom. Both the companies are universally known for their bespoke bone china dinnerware. They are just a few of the companies who continue to create beautiful artistry in UK. Also present at the event was Alister Malcolm, a renowned glass artist. The repertoire extended to include rare glass and ceramic antiquities from different parts of Europe, at pleasantly affordable price points.

There were also a select few tea sets acquired by the founder-owner couple themselves in UK which were about 20-30 years old. Purnima Sethi said, “Though these are not exactly antique as yet, but their beauty is unmatchable and they are very desirable pieces. They are antique dinnerware of the future.”