Across India, objects have long been made for rituals, offerings, ceremonies and acts of devotion. Many are wonderfully practical, others highly symbolic, and some sit somewhere between the two. What makes them particularly interesting to us is the way craftsmanship, ritual and everyday life come together in a single object.
Our Vintage Ceremonial Objects collection brings together pieces we have discovered while travelling across India and looking through old homes, family collections, local markets and with collectors. It includes vintage Indian ritual objects, devotional pieces, pooja objects, ceremonial vessels and other objects connected to religious and cultural traditions.
The collection is deliberately eclectic. A finely worked ritual object from Kerala can sit alongside a ceremonial piece from Karnataka, a devotional object from Maharashtra or an unusual object whose original purpose takes a little more looking to understand. Some are beautifully made; some are wonderfully unusual; and some simply have the kind of presence that makes you want to know where they came from.
We look for age, material, craftsmanship, regional character and, wherever possible, the story and context behind an object. Signs of use are part of what makes many of these vintage and antique pieces special. They tell us that the object was not made simply to be displayed, but was once part of something larger.
This is a collection of Indian ceremonial objects and ritual artefacts with a life behind them, brought together for collectors and anyone drawn to the quieter, more unexpected side of India’s material culture.
