BENGALURU: Natesan’s Antiqarts (MG Road)
Natesan’s, started in 1930 in Chennai, is one of the oldest line of antique shops in the country. The shop has original antiques and object d’arts fashioned in traditional style by skilled craftsmen in bronze, iron, silver, and other metals. The owner T N Natesan was an enterprising entrepreneur who saw the rising interest in collector’s items and antiques among the British. He started off by selling hand-carved ivory buttons and soon caught the eye of a British woman who helped him set up a shop. As of today, Natesan shops are in multiple cities in India and in Bengaluru it is located in 76, Mahatma Gandhi Road.
Dhakshini Antiques ( Artillery Road, Ulsoor)
Set up more than 30 years ago, the shop boasts of South Indian vintage pieces. The family-run shop does restoration work with the help of skilled craftsmen as of today. Furniture is also designed in-house from a traditional mould, but made contemporary with its utilitarian additions.
Qurio City (Kamaraj Road)
Find dowry chests and doors from the house of Mysore Maharajah’s concubine to vintage posters in this shop, which itself is set in a 100-year-old house. You can also find gramophone players dating to 1908, a copy of The Discovery of India signed by Jawaharlal Nehru, a 150-year-old cuckoo clock and old radios. The shop was started by a former Indian Air Force employee S V Ramachandran in 2006.
The Vintage Shop (HAL Airport Rd, Rustam Bagh Layout)
Established in 1996, the shop stocks antique furniture, including Georgian high chairs and Victorian sofas. You can also go here looking for unique chairs, book cases and newspaper stands.