The acquainted partitions of Chennai’s Apparao Galleries are opulent at the moment; a deal with to the aesthete’s eye.
Look to the suitable, and you discover a floating alligator of pure sterling silver, its head, torso and tail, every a separate piece. To the left you discover an eclectic jewelry set — earrings and necklaces — made completely with the forewings of naturally expired scarab beetles present in abundance within the tamarind timber of Thailand. Its green-blue metallic sheen traces one’s eyeline: a collector’s piece, little doubt. A lion sculpture made of a sandalwood piece by retaining its pure form, and accomplished with sterling silver has unmistakable Asian influences.
At Thailand-based dwelling decor, jewelry and equipment model Lotus Arts de Vivre’s first-ever solo exhibit within the metropolis, titled Tales of Asia, held in collaboration with Heeramaneck & Son and Apparao, every bit is a collectable as envisioned by the model’s founder Rolf von Bueren, who immigrated to Thailand from Germany within the 1960s and known as the Asian nation dwelling ever since.
Rolf von Bueren with son Nicklas
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It is widespread data that Rolf is a treasure trove of tales. A effectively travelled and avid art collector, Rolf’s love for Thailand is anchored by the nation’s impeccable craftsmanship and its appreciation for art. “There is nothing more luxurious than what we cannot have, what seems out of reach” — this realisation is what led to the inception of Lotus.
The von Bueren household’s beginnings had been reasonably humble. After the Second World War, after they emigrated to Thailand from Germany in 1962, they had been solely armed with appreciation for expert craftsmanship. It is that this aspiration to covet what appears unreachable that slowly led to Lotus, which began as merely a pastime enterprise. The model owes its success to Thailand’s pure assets, craftsmanship, traditions and customs, and the folks of the nation.
Over a Zoom name from Bangkok, Rolf says, “The West has contributed very little to civilisation — wine, bread, opera, classical music… While all the good things, like silk, pearls, rubies, come from the East. In medieval times, after the West discovered the route to eastern countries like India, all courts in Europe collected things they didn’t have themselves, like fossilised shark teeth thinking they were claws of dragons. They were called the ‘miraculous chambers of wonders’. This was the basis of all Western museums.”
Scarab cluster earrings with pink tourmaline and diamonds
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Rolf who has been gathering art, jewelry and purposeful items for the previous 40 years, doesn’t miss a possibility to remind the world of Asia’s huge pool of assets, craftsmanship and lovely art.
He continues, “Thailand has an active and fully funded crafts support system, paid by the royal household. Most of our workers come from that source of education.” The Thais have exceptionally good fingers, says the aesthete-turned-businessman. They begin with knotting and textile work very early in life, as kids. And so, their fingers are very nimble. “We are lucky to live among such people for 40 years,” he provides.
Carved shell gravy bowl
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India will not be alien to Rolf — he travels in and out regularly in search of the nation’s crafts, assets and craftsmanship that always displays on the model’s merchandise. He remembers, “Our first ever trip as a married couple was to Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), and there I bought my very first jamawar [silk] and now have a substantial collection of 170 pieces.”
Rolf loves the Indian thoughts and admits to being “fascinated by anything Indian”. He continues, “There is this Indian spiritual cover all over Asia, it goes as far as Japan and China.” This has enormously impressed some of his collections. Perhaps, the burl wooden Happy Monk is a bodily manifestation of that.
Later this yr, he plans to take an in depth journey to Varanasi to analysis textile traditions and crafts by visits to factories, just like the one which does cloth from peacock feathers sourced from previous followers of Hare Krishna travellers.
Happy Monk sculpture with strolling stick
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Ask Rolf, after over 40 years of gathering, what his most-prized possession is, and he’s prepared with the reply: “My wife, who is Thai, has a seven-kilogram wedding saree from Lucknow that is stitched with emeralds and Basra pearls. These kind of items cannot be measured or put a price on, it’s a memory, a rarity…”
Tales of Asia shall be on show until January 31 at Apparao Galleries, Nungambakkam. On January 30, a chat by Deepti Sashidharan on jewelry in museums throughout India shall be held at 4pm.
