CHENNAI: Fine Arts and Collectibles — the topic of Ashvita Event’s eighth talk in the series —revolved around three collectors and their journeys. Karthik V, collector and conservator of photographs; Srivats Ram, collector of music instruments; and Sita Venkataramani, collector of bells, shared the stories behind their prized possessions.
Chimes of harmony
Sita Venkataramani started collecting bells in early 1978. By 1990, she got to know about the existence of the American Bell Association which was formed by people who enjoyed collecting and learning about bells. “The object holds a unique place in our religion, art, archaeology and iconography. Bells have auspiciousness, prosperity and divinity attached to them. They are treated as a subject of veneration, symbolism, and superstition. They bring discipline to life among modern-day cacophony,” said Sita.
Bells made of brass, bronze, ceramic, crystal, porcelain, wood, and less traditional materials — name it and she has them all. Coming from India, the land of bronze bells, other metals intrigued her. Among her favourites is the one that was gifted to her from Nepal for her wedding anniversary. It’s a replica of Krishna temple in a wooden hanging bell format. “Each bell has a different tonal quality based on the metal it is made of. Some of my limited edition collections include Danbury mint bells, Ballantyne bells, norman Rockwell bells, Chinese cloisonne, calendar bells, Japanese gods, maple tree bells, and nodder bells. As I stay near the Adyar river, maintenance is challenging because of the corrosion on metals,” said Sita, who continues to collect and documents stories behind them.
Keeping memories alive
Karthik V has been restoring photographs since 1988 and has preserved 28,000 images across time periods. Photo conservation is the science which defines the ageing and damage to photographic objects, and steps that can be taken to arrest the same, recover the originals in some cases and to protect them from further damage. Science defines treatment standards and methods for each type of photograph.
“India needs 10,000 photography conservationists to save her treasures. We hardly have five. Any effort to conserve image requires a solid foundation of the materials we are dealing with. Physical and chemical property tests are required. Identification of film material — glass plate wet collodion, glass plate dry silver gelatin, cellulose acetate film, cellulose nitrate film, and polyester film — is important. Sadly, not many prefer to work in this field.
But, if one is interested then they must read archival photography, boxing, print-making, binding, interleaving, storing and monitoring,” said Karthik. Unless he’s sure about the method and its outputs, he does not take a chance. “I seek help from a few of my friends abroad when I get stuck. Once you restore an image, its history gets documented, and you derive pleasure seeing the original image in the picture,” he adds.
Of beats, hymns, and tunes
Srivats Ram’s house is a treasure trove of collectibles since 1977. He has toy tops, gyros, whistle-makers, 250 miscellaneous music instruments, rocks, stamps, hats, masks, and first-day post cover collections. “Collecting is in my genes. Now, I’ve stopped with stamp collection due to lack of space in the house. I also have my grandmother’s stamp collections, and I have developed an emotional attachment to these possessions,” he said.
He quickly takes a screw-like instrument and twists it in one direction after which we hear the sound of a bird. Srivats has also learned to play them. The instruments are maintained by playing them once in a while. One of his proud collections includes Jew’s harps from 41 countries. He also has a set of harmonicas, rain stick, tong, singing bowl, and Moroccan drums.
“I’m fascinated by the sounds these can make. These are the quirky ones that people hardly know of. To produce sound, some instruments require placing them between the teeth and biting while the others are simple. I have picked up instruments from Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, and Sweden,” he says. In an effort to make collectibles accessible to a wider audience and market, Ashvita has conducted seven auctions so far. The present one is live on their website. For details, visit: Ashvitas.com