On June 16, 1851, ‘The Times’ of London wrote about a gift from Travancore to Queen Victoria - ‘‘To give, by description, any idea of the magnificence of this piece of the Court furniture from the East is plainly impossible. It must be seen to be properly appreciated, for no words can do justice to the effect produced by the jewelled eyes of the numerous monsters carved in the framework of the throne.’’
To borrow what Charles Allen and Sharada Dwivedi wrote in the book, ‘Lives of the Indian Princes’, it was a gift fit for a queen - an ivory throne and a foot stool that was presented to Queen Victoria in 1850 by the Maharaja of Travancore. Ivory art works and Ivory carvers belong to a forgotten section of history, remembered only when human beings decide to take a trip back to the past.
Far away in England, someone has just done just that and arranged a major exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace that will be on till October 2010. This exhibition is the first ever to focus on the unique partnership of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and their shared enthusiasm for art. ‘Victoria and Albert: Art and Love’ focuses on the period of Victoria’s marriage to Prince Albert, from the time of their engagement in 1839 to the Prince’s untimely death in 1861.
And the ivory throne, in all its glory in gold, silver and green velvet, has once again become a show-stealer. The makers of this exquisite piece of art have all gone, but their descendants live here in the city. Sharat Sunder Rajeev, who is writing a book on the Viswakarma families in the city, helped Expresso to trace the eldest among the fifth generation descendants, T.K. Hari, who lives at Kaithamukku.
We found him among paints, paint-brushes, paintings and a huge number of books that ranged from art, history, fiction and spirituality. ‘‘It was my great-great-grandfather, Kochu Kunju Asari, and his son Neelakantan Asari, who made that ornamental throne,’’ Hari said with an enormous amount of pride. Neelakantan’s eldest son was Thanuvan Asari, whose eldest son was Kunjan Asari, Hari’s father.
‘‘All of them were housed in the School of Arts (the present Fine Arts College) as chiefs of ivory carving and I still remember a lot of Europeans coming to my grandfather to get art works in ivory. Some would even want to have figures of their dead dogs in ivory,’’ he said with a smile.
Hari knows to work on ivory, he himself had made a few pieces in his younger days, when the ivory ban was not yet effective. ‘‘It’s in our blood. We just need to pick up the tools. If I take a pencil in hand, pictures would just flow out,’’ said Hari, who retired from the AG’s office.
It is the same creative power, the same craftsmanship that made the ivory throne a reality. It was in 1849 that Uthram Thirunal Marthanda Varma was told of the Great Exhibition in London.
A committee was formed for this which included the Resident, General Cullen; the Durbar physician Dr Paterson; a judge, Kohlhoff; dewan peshkar Ramen Menon and P. Shangoony Menon. They decided that the ivory state chair, which was already being made for the Maharaja, would be an apt gift. The Maharaja wanted the Queen to accept the throne after the exhibition. And she did, with pleasure.
On August 21, 1851, she wrote back - ‘‘Your Highness’s chair has occupied a prominent position amongst the wonderful works of art which have been collected. Your Highness’s liberality and the workmanship of the natives of Travancore have there received due admiration from the vast multitude of spectators’’.
Kochu Kunju Asari was given the title of Anantha Padmanabhan Asari by the King of Travancore, he was also given ‘Uurhiyam’ (farm land presented to those loyal to the royal family) in Kazhakkoottam.
Hari said there were enquiries from London on the living descendants of this great master, but unfortunately they were diverted, before he could respond. Ivory ban could save some elephants, but the art form of ivory carving was lost forever.
To have a detailed look at the intricate carvings on the magnificient art work, use the magnifying tool at the exhibition website: http://royalcollection.org.uk/microsites/vandahl/MicroObject.asp?row=0&themeid=731
&item=0.
reema_narendran@expressbuzz.com