A rare realm

Original...old...antiquarian... These value enhancing terms which evoke appreciation or awe from some quarters and indifference from others assume a new meaning at the Rare Finds exhibitions periodically organized by Dilnavaz Mehta at Bombay’s Cymroza Art Gallery. After holding two successful exhibitions in 1999 and 2000 Mehta says she had accomplished her objective of increasing awareness about these unusual works of art and history — prints, maps and books; of bringing these genuine ‘antiques on paper’ at affordable rates to a large number of individuals.

A collector turned dealer, Mehta was not planning to promote her work through exhibitions anymore. But goaded by the public, she held her third exhibition from November 27-30, 2002 when there were over 2,000 prints, nearly 300 maps and almost 40 books that were up for sale. The visitors to her exhibition were not her regular clients, specifies Mehta. Originally she had envisaged that she would put up select books, published between 1775 to 1940, for sale. Dealing with literature, history, religion, travel, art, architecture, archeology, biographies, nature, all of which were sold out at the preview, she had to hastily arrange for another replacement, she states. "Apart from being interesting material for reading, research ... they are increasingly being used as decor. These books with their unique presentation, intricately decorated covers, add a touch of class as well as impart exclusivity,” explains a press handout.

The maps on view covering British, other European power territories, independent kingdoms of the Indian empire, the Asian continent, marine areas, town plans and geographical features date between 1700-1900. "Old maps were usually produced by the master craftsmen who drew, engraved, printed and colored the maps... Not many such maps are available as compared to prints since they were never produced in large numbers ...(as) they were only needed by traders or travelers. Moreover with the improvement of accuracy in measurements and map making, the earlier versions were periodically discarded,” conveys the handout.

Natural history, shikar (game) or hunting and sport, topography, portraits of gods, goddesses, mythological and historical figures, events, landscapes, urban views, costumes, native life, monuments, the Indian mutiny and a series of colored plates on fairy tale stories were among the prints of the 19th and 20th centuries displayed at the exhibition. "Prints are an interesting blend of art and history...Many were published to commemorate or publicize a particular event while others would have a political or satirical theme... They are pictorial records of the times gone by... Each print produced by these early print making techniques is now considered to be an original limited edition pictorial image. As only a limited number of copies of each visual on paper could be made, out of which only a few have survived, it adds to their exclusivity,” clarifies the handout.

With each of these well preserved exhibits in the Rs 500-10,000 range painstakingly mounted and dutifully captioned Mehta believes in selling only those pieces which are in a good condition and would last the buyer for a long time. While those who know the true worth of such antiques are willing to spend money to increase their collection there are many others who don’t know what priceless artefacts they have in their possession and how best to take care of them. When they see the lavish care and attention bestowed on such works they realize that instead of relegating pieces "to the pétaaraa or maariu (trunk or attic)” or worse still, the jaripuraanwala (scrap dealer) they need to be more respectful towards their legacies. "This happens not only among the Parsis but in all communities,” attests 31-year-old Mehta whose regular clientele would include around five percent of Parsis. Occasionally there are overseas Parsis who stop by to scan her stock when they wish to carry with them some significant memento. At the last exhibition there were nearly 35 displays to particularly interest Parsis: of sites in Persepolis, the Persian columns, cities in Iran, portraits...

Each of her exhibitions has a totally new stock of visuals, mentions Mehta. "I travel a lot to source these materials,” says Mehta who attended courses and workshops before her connoisseur’s eye could identify the genuine and the duplicate, the valuable and the trivia. Besides searching for books and setting up heritage libraries Mehta’s venture Rare Finds also offers services like evaluation and restoration. What started out as a pastime has now become a profession. Initially her interest in old books was tapped by her college friends who would seek her help to locate tomes they could not find elsewhere. And when her husband Minoo found an antiquarian Gujarati book abandoned on a wall by the side of a garbage dump she decided that she would spend her time in salvaging such works instead of pursuing a career in science for which she was qualified. After her early education at Bombay’s J. B. Petit High School for Girls she studied science at the Ruia College and K. C. College and completed her postgraduation from the Bombay University.

Having found her vocation Mehta is keen that the youth in the community take it upon themselves to start a new enterprise which "requires a lot of effort” instead of whiling away their time, content that their parents are providing for all their needs. She refers to the two elderly individuals in her employment "who may fall short of energy, who may not be computer savvy but who want to be productive. They value their self worth. You can see their pleasure when they make a sale.” They are oftimes entrusted with her precious exhibits for as part of her perusal service for south Bombay, she sends articles for approval to the homes and offices of prospective buyers. Otherwise she operates from her residence at Dadar Parsi Colony (Tel: 2412134, e-mail:dmmehta@ vsnl. com).

"Being so small in numbers, we should agree to disagree rather than indulge in petty squabbling,” opines Mehta adding, "Why can’t we be more productive?” Not in favor of mindless change and reforms, she expresses her rationale, "We should make an effort to educate ourselves, get acquainted with facts before passing comments or judgments... Once we join a school, we can’t say we will observe certain rules and not the others. The same applies to religion. Our religion has survived because it had the power to survive; because of what we stood for...what the religion stood for.” The articulate collector truly values all legacies, whether material or spiritual.