The house of Amin Hullur, opposite the historical Gol Gumbaz, looks ordinary from the outside but inside it is a mini-treasure of antique artefacts belonging to the Adil Shahi dynasty.
This antique collector is so passionate about any objects from that era that he has spent huge sums of money in collecting them. For the last 15 years, Mr. Hullur, who is an interior designer, has been collecting items ranging from daggers, spears, cannon balls, locks, arrow heads, swords, ceramic vessels, pieces of carpet, beetle cutters to over a thousand rare coins.
He has also donated some 45 rare coins to the Archaeological Survey of India, which are now part of the museum at Gol Gumbaz.
“The craze for collecting antique objects began at the age of 15 when I notice a few rare coins in the possession of my grandmother. In fact, it was she who inspired me to collect antique items,” Mr. Hullur said.
Since then, he continued to collect rare items, primarily belonging to Adil Shahi era.
The 37-year-old collector said that he has been purchasing rare items largely from scrap dealers while some have been donated by relatives and friends.
“Before I started buying from the scrap merchants, some persons were purchasing the items from them and were reportedly selling in black. I met these merchants and made them aware of the importance of the artifacts belonging to the Adil Shahi era. Since then, most of these merchants first bring to my notice about any material and they even sell me for a nominal price,” he said.
Informing that the city had at least 20 such people who are collecting antiques, Mr. Hullur however said that most of them are keeping the treasure in their houses as they have no better place to exhibit them.
“Therefore, we are asking the district administration to construct a museum where these materials can be kept for public viewing,” he said.
When contacted, Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep said that the district administration had planned to build an art gallery inside Anand Mahal. “We can make a provision for exhibiting the objects of these private collectors,” he said.
Vijayapura resident
has collected rare artefacts belonging
to the Adil Shahi era
