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Enjoy The Phillips Antiques Shop In Bombay!
A snarling 6 feet high solid wood tiget sits adjacent to drawers of sophisticated glasswork; unique lithographs combined with fearsome tribe masks - welcome to the eclectic realm of click for farook issa; Phillips Antiques a Mumbai institution which is surely classic itself. Set in the city�s historical zone, Colaba, the airy store has remained very similar during the last a hundred and fifty yrs.
It's really a shop in which you can peruse all day. Cabinets of metallic knick-knacks, paintings of every kind, eye-catching hardwood statues, large trunks, sophisticated temple sculpture, beads and baubles, Ancient charts and also Mughal coins help make for an interesting jumble.
Initially a drug store and also general retailer - started in 1860 by �Mr Phillips�, a Brit whose 1st name has been long forgotten - the property were bought from Phillips by the current holder Farooq Issa�s great-grandfather - a enthusiast - and turned into an antique store. Tourists have included King Mohammed VI of Morocco and additionally Paul Theroux.
Whereas Phillips might possibly look unaltered on the outside, actually it is adapting to the times. Previously recognized because of its Western arts and crafts, it now focuses on Indian tribe and folk works of art. Says the courtly Farook Issa, �People�s tastes have changed and there is a growing interest in Indian folk sculptures, both overseas and additionally locally. Folk art is still very reasonably priced, unlike contemporary works of art. Besides, colonial and additionally Mughal artefacts aren�t which easy to come by any more.� says Farook Issa.
Among farook issa�s prizes: the acclaimed tribe artist Satya Narayan Lal Karn�s complicated Mithila paintings of jungle scenes, which range from Rs12,000 (Dh990) to Rs90,000, and a selection of Tanjore paintings of Hindu mythical scenes finely decorated in silver leaf. However the many striking may just be the folk carving: fierce creature as well as human figures in dazzling vermilion, yellow and also green - many salvaged from temples or homes in south India, as well as some from ceremonial chariots. A vahana or chariot decoration will cost about Rs350,000, however low-cost customers might possibly favor the delicately carved teak wall brackets with figures of horses or birds, at Rs10,000. Farooq Issa�s own favorite is a shadow puppet, approximately 1.5 metres tall, made from paper-thin leather. �Smaller puppets are common, however it�s rare to find such a large one,� Farooq Issa says.
If shoppers prefer the colonial era, there are reproductions of late 19th-century photographs, many taken by court photographers. They show the lost beauty of colonial Bombay and, at approximately Rs5000, make good gifts, as do the many original lithographs and additionally posters. Phillips also has a vast collection of antique furniture, both original and repro, ranging from desks and dressing tables to four-poster beds.
