Saying it with teak

PUSHPA CHARI

Antique items, jewellery and quality craft are on display at Rani Arts and Teak and The Museum Company.

ARTEFACTS: Wood carvings and lamp shades. Photo S. Thanthoni

The recently opened Rani Arts and Teak (on 8, Harrington Road, Chetput) and The Museum Company (2, Kasturi Ranga Road, Alwarpet) celebrate the best and rarest of personally selected and manufactured quality craft.

According to Subramanian and Bazaz, the brains behind Rani Arts and The Museum Company respectively, client appreciation is all about uniqueness and quality in the product line, both of which are obviously the USPs of the two neighbourhood craft stores.

At Rani Arts and Teak, the spectacular range of artefacts, decorative and lifestyle items and sculpture in brass, wood, and silver go to the heart of excellence, which lies in Indian craftsmanship.

Mauryan art, South Indian temple art and Kerala's Cheran art inspire reproductions in wood, which literally bring history alive. The scale of the artefacts is big and give a touch of drama to the objects, whether it is a brass reproduction of miniature art brought to three dimensional life, beautifully cast carved brass elephants, Andhra planters in exotic fruit shapes in ancient patinas and a not-to-be-missed Chettinad "Shombu" with superlative etchings of stylised peacocks.

The Museum Company is again a craft aficionado's delight, full of rare collectibles It has some rare antiques such as a reclining stone Buddha sourced from the Himalayan region, a beautifully embellished Nepalese Tara and Rajasthani doors, `Jhoolas' and chests.

Kashmir's Pashmina shawls in varying prices, Pashmina table linen, and a rare painted wooden horse from Jaipur, are other items on view.

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