Three Old Monk bottles that were manufactured by Mohan Meakin in the 1980s, or a collection of original photographs of famous landmarks of Madras? Better still, a series of key paintings from the Madras School, including Girl, by L Munuswamy, one of the most important modern painters from the School. An array of collectibles depicting life in Madras are now up for public view and sale with the launch of ashvitas.com, the online face of the chain’s artistic wing.
The website will also host an online auction titled Madras Sale, featuring 65 collections of fine art, photography, and other collectibles. For instance, photographs back then were usually extracted from a single portfolio that a studio would offer. Out of the two sets that are available for auctioning, one is from Wiele & Klein Photography Studio, Madras. The photographs were developed from the original glass plate negatives in 2002. The negatives had previously been discovered in the 1980s, at the home of a Miss Cooper from Coonoor, who is believed to have worked at the original photography studio. “In order to show people that this how the photographs were distributed and were later developed and restored, we have these postcard-sized pictures,” says Ashvin E Rajagopal, founder, Ashvita’s.
Ashvita’s started off as a gallery for modern and contemporary art in 2000 in Mylapore. Over the years, these connoisseurs of art took to being institutional advisors by working with other galleries and museums and supporting contemporary artists. “In these years, we have realised that if we were to reach out to more audiences in the country, the online auction format is going to help,” says Ashvin.
With a background in Fine Arts and Art History, Ashvin, along with the curatorial team, was able to reach out to collectors in the city to acquire a few of these works. “We are a traditional auction house, in the sense that the artworks come in a catalogue, you bid for it and you win. The only difference is that we are exclusively online, keeping in mind the technological changes that the market has adopted.”
City chronicles
Madras, as the theme, was a no-brainer. “We are a gallery based out of Madras, and our first exhibition in 2002 was also on Madras. We wanted to show what Madras is exactly; not just through paintings and photographs. It also includes a lot of memorabilia,” observes the founder, adding that the subsequent auctions which will be held on a monthly basis will explore different themes. In Ashvita’s auction platform, anything that has cultural and nostalgic value will find space. Ashoka hair tonic, which was produced in Madras of the ‘30s, and Parry’s sweet boxes made of tin, all trace back to the roots of Madras itself, which since then has evolved into a metropolitan city. “We wanted to show the life of Madras: not just through the idea represented visually, but also through objects that were in use,”continues Ashvin.
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With a background in art, Ashvin says he was able to build a space for collectors to showcase what they have. “Some collectors have the ability to collect, but not necessarily the ability to choose what to collect. Thats where somebody with a background in art helps,” he concludes.
The Madras Sale will be on October 18 and 19, at www.ashvitas.com. The catalogue can be viewed on the same website.
