Buying Bronzes in Tamil Nadu

My entire first post is about buying newly made lost-wax casting process bronze idols sourced from the kumbakonam region. I think it helps support the artisans.

I am worried though that articles from moradabad (just over 100 kms from where i live - noida) have made their way all the way to mint street, chennai. And this is just not in one shop - practically all of them stocked cheaper brass items from up north.

I'm sure its hurting the prospects of the kumbakonam artists as the larger volume of these items (collectively referred to as 'temple items') makes its way into Tamil households. The average local buyer of these items buys them for devotional reasons and if she switches over to the stuff made in Moradabad - it would be just the people left in the market for a cultural artifact who'd actually be able to support the handicraft workers.

On the positive side ... at least they weren't made in China!

I do not see anything unethical about buying these pieces, whether newly cast or antiques that may be traded in.

No one here was asking about prices of antiques that belong in museums and may not be sold.

Ha ha, that is true. You can find Chinese idols made of resin and plastic though, they are obviously Chinese as anyone can see from the eyes. Even the Chinese made dogs and cat figurines have Chinese eyes!

As for Moradabad ware, obviously it would hit the market and they are available in Kumbakonam as well. It is the price factor and volume production. Nowadays, even the traditional centres of production in the south are turning out lighter pieces to reduce the cost.

Price apart, it does not require any genius to distinguish between a relatively crude Moradabad piece and a fine one from the Kumbakonam region.

Actually, some of them were fine enough to warrant a halting conversation inquiring about the origins of the statue ... even the more established chennai stores such as 'Giri trading' - right next to kapaleeswar temple stocks the ones made up north ...

What do you mean? Spit it out!

Good to hear that the quality of Moradabad ware has improved.

Stores will always stock stuff based on the sales they can expect to generate and their own margins, so if cheaper Moradabad ware can push up production of cheaper but perhaps better finished Kumbakonam ware, it is good for the customer.

There will always be a niche market for those who want fine pieces and are ready to pay for it.

I doubt that the traditional craftsmen will be short of work, their products are also in great demand in museums and temples and as we all know, there are always new temples being built in India and abroad - it is a profitable business.

There is a trade in articles stolen from temples. I wouldn't have thought that the average traveller would be likely to come across this, so it doesn't seem very relevant to this thread. It's a bit like telling people who are looking for a car audio system to be careful about stuff they might get offered in a public bar.

If someone wanders up to a visitor in the street and offers to sell them something antique, I'd have thought it even more likely to be fake, but ... either way, yes, it's probably best to walk away from such transactions, anywhere in the world.

Oh, I see!
Thanks.

For prices check here

http://www.rajanbronzearts.com/newproduct.htm

Made near Swamimalai. I have one here in my house

again, many thanks for such an informational post, your time and patience

If it helps you find anything, it was worth the effort

5 months later from my last post on this topic, today, sitting in Chennai, I have an update!

This Saturday, after a very hard work-week (ending at 11:30 pm on a Friday evening) I finally was free - which is a rarity these days. I was a bit tired and after a leisurely breakfast, want really planning to do anything at all - given that I was 'made comfortable' in Sholinganallur (technically in the Kancheepuram district) far removed from the heart of the city. The first real shot at the buffet breakfast slowed down the pace of the day further. It was nap-time again after breakfast!

Leaving the hotel that afternoon, outside, I saw the usual motley crew of autowallahs and i didn't even have the heart to ask them 'how much VTI / Marina / parry's'.

To my rescue was the new 21H bus that took me all the way from Shozinghanallur to Parry's in Georgetown. It cost just Rs 33 to travel 26 km in air-conditioned comfort(yes that's right - it's not even a divisible number!).

It wasn't a planned trip at all - I just took the first air-conditioned bus that showed up in the general direction of the old city since I had nothing else in mind except exploring that area. On my last trip, I had seen many lanes that I didn't get a chance to explore.

Around 2 pm, when i reached Parry's - it was drizzling and quickly turned into a shower.



I spent time roaming around aimlessly, picking up interesting stuff that we don't get back home - like fresh ground coffee at Leo's.

It's quite an interesting feeling to have someone ground exactly the quantity you need -

" 55 grams? 357 grams?"
" no problem sa'ar"
and have them pack it before your eyes)

- doesn't get more fresh than that. Here's a photo of that hard working Tamil-movie-star-in-the-making who ground it for me this rainy day.



After this, and lunch at Krishna hotel (superb onion dosai), a bit further down the Chinna Perumal temple, I was bored and took a left turn, ending at BLT stores workshop and godown - specialist in temple items. A couple specimens of his work may be seen below - numbers 3 and 4. The devi statue is actually life size and can shock the first time visitor (since the owner's cousin who runs the works keeps it fully clothed, with a garland and a kumkum tilak on the forehead) (seen here).



There's an even more gorgeous nataraja near the door (clearly out of my budget and not-for-sale anyways).



A note about BLT: quite a few items are not for sale in that shop - a natarja idol, that i asked for, included. He's also working on getting 108 tandava karana (?) statues finished. Photo below should give some idea about the collection - this is about half of it.



An hour of my time resulted in nothing - anything I liked was either too expensive or not for sale. Also, sadly, about 30% of his collection is also now sourced from the north.

I started walking back, in the general direction of the bus stand- by this time, it was a mini-flood. And then there was yet another downpour. So, In the street that's on the right turn from novelty (see photo below) I walked into yet another one- just to escape the rain - it was pretty much evening by this time (and walking in all this water was proving quite a task).



CK Gajapathy and sons on Genguraman street is a dimly lit shop and one that deals primarily in brass, copper and stainless steel ware. Their product line of 'temple items' is dominated by the cheaper north indian variety now flooding Chennai market.

I wasn't even planning to ask but the owner prompted me - and I asked if he, had any Kumbakonam items. He didn't deal in them any longer, due to low margins - but he did have a piece!

It wasn't panchaloga - it was brass - but one sight of the dancer and my heart was set on it. The piece wasn't new, and perhaps because it wasn't, the artisan had spent time leisurely engraving a few fine lines that pass for ornaments and clothing. The idol had a darker hue, due to the mix and gave off a more bronze like look than the shiny brass.

Shiva wanted to come home - I had no second thoughts and 'did the needful'. There was, the minor inconvenience of going through ankle deep water in search of an ATM for about half hour as the establishment did not accept cards and I did not have enough cash.

I wanted the patina (natural, or so I am told) to stay and had a hard time explaining the cataract-stricken old help not to polish it. He finally agreed to gently rub damp cloth over the dust gathering over the statue for the last 10 years and packed it for me.

So, until I save enough to afford something like what BLT displays at their doorstep or manage a trip to Kumbakonam region .... it is this nataraja that I will look at for a long, long time.

Nice write-up, Vaibhav

Great. I love the Pary's area and, much to my poor wife's exhausted frustration, I can wander the shops there for three or four hours. It's her fault: I never knew about it until she took me!

From the street name, it looks as if you were on the Park Town side? around here? Unexplored territory to me, and obviously well worth a look