In with the old

Love at first sight with a 19thcentury Dutch-Sri Lankan armoire started a long-term commitment with vintage pieces for antiquarian Gaurav Bhatia. He shares his journey and tips on how to find a classic that stands the test of time

- Gaurav Bhatia

It was with the doyen of period furniture, the late Mahendra Doshi, that I began my journey with antiquing. I had just moved back to Mumbai after a decade in New York, almost 30 and newly minted into my first job in the luxury industry. I was a second-generation antique hunter, my parents being firm patrons and friends of Doshi, whose advice was simple and wise: “Collect what thrills you. There are no rules. Invest in periods old and new. It’s a wonderful mix.” His words have stood me in great stead, from the first piece I bought—a 19th-century Dutch-Sri Lankan satinwood and ebony armoire—to today, when I am never scared to see if anything ‘fits’ my home. If I like it, it will fit. Just like that gorgeous armoire did in my one-bedroom flat over a decade ago.

As I sit on my Pierre Jeanneret Chandigarh chair, also carefully restored by Doshi, and look around my house, I think the grand old man of period furniture would give me a silent nod. Our living room today houses British and Dutch colonial furniture collected from master dealers and icons of the trade, such as Doshi, Laura Hamilton and Farooq Issa (owner of Phillips Antiques). Hallmarked silver flirts with ancient Asian ceramics as vintage textiles from Benares mix with South Asian contemporary art. An early-19thcentury brass-in-laid rosewood cabinet is flanked by ultra-contemporary works by Bangladeshi artist Ayesha Sultana. A pair of irreverent celadon garden seats handsomely perch themselves on a century-old crimson Persian carpet inherited from my grandparents. Casual kilims play with South Indian temple antiquities as other old ephemera and objets d’art pepper themselves carelessly across the room. It’s a space that still manages to send me into a magical time warp.