www.indianminiaturepaintings.co.uk

ABOUT ME

Who? What? When?

A SELECTED BIOGRAPHY

I have been collecting Indian, Himalayan and South East Asian art since 1994. In 1997 I achieved an Honours Degree in the joint subjects of History of Art & South Asian Studies at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. Though having started an MA specialising in Indian Miniature Painting the following year at the university's now defunct PRASADA, completing two modules, I was unable to resist the lure of Indian miniatures. So, buying more paintings meant I had no money left for course fees! However, at PRASADA I met many academics and other experts in the field, many of whom I am still able to refer to when seeking opinions of paintings and sculptures that I acquire. Some are amongst the UK's most high profile museum curators of the past and present, others are respected authors of books on Indian art, not forgetting the specialists at Sotheby's and Christie's. I happily acknowledge how fortunate and privileged I am to have access to these sources of information.

Since 1994 I have acquired a substantial number of Indian miniatures. Some have been exchanged or sold on to finance the purchase of others, ostensibly better in some way, others I am keeping at least for the moment, and a few I intend to hold on to. Paintings in the exhibition represent only a selection from my collection. Similar processes occur with my sculptures and other arts and crafts as well as what is now a sizeable private library covering Indian, Himalayan and South East Asian Art history, art reference and auction catalogues. The scope of these collections in tandem with my ongoing research has made them attractive to some museums: to date I have loaned over 250 artifacts to Leicester Museum for a two year period, which were then transferred to the Empire and Commonwealth Museum, Bristol, for a further three year period. Both museums acknowledged and used my own detailed provenance of the artifacts. In 2007, Leicester Museum accepted an amended copy of my undergraduate thesis on Gujarati dowry embroideries, written to benefit their large but uncatalogued collection which had been acquired in the 1970s. In October 2009 I made this enterprise full-time so that it is now a businees rather than a hobby, though I continue to add to my personal collection as enthusiastically as ever.

I regularly view the major international auction houses' Indian art sales and also some of the more exclusive specialist dealers in London, where I am able to handle and closely examine at first hand miniature paintings of the highest standard - the only way of acquiring real knowledge and true familiarity. I have held and peered at through a magnifying glass a thousand and doubtless more. Often I'm asked how I can be sure that a painting is what I say it is. The answer is that I do so courtesy of my academic background, of contacts and experience, together with ongoing and painstaking research, added to which is the knowledge gained through familiarity by handling and examining at first hand Indian miniature paintings. My experience is, finally, supported by questions and confirmation sought from acknowledged experts in the field. But I must admit that not only myself but even the most established experts - the intelligentsia of the Indian art world - can occasionally differ in opinion and even themselves sometimes get things wrong.

FAKES AND THE FEAR OF BEING DUPED

Especially important in my experience are the numbers of clever fakes I have come across and even bought. I once paid a large sum for a Pahari painting which turned out to be a clever fake. I still have it as a reminder how easy it can be to waste money. That it was fake became clear from certain tell-tale signs that I was then unfamiliar with. What are these signs? Well, they can vary immensely, for example from the treatment of a nose shape or facial profile to the form and treatment of birds in trees - these were "wrong" in my Pahari fake. Sometimes experiences such as this are a painful but sadly necessary part of the learning process. Being able to examine a fake at close hand, with the aid of magnification, but more importantly, with time, to enable close and thorough examination of each and every stylistic element, is an education in itself. This process, when being made alongside examples of the real thing or failing this high quality reproductions, provides evidence exposing a fake's true identity.

MY REASSURANCE AND GUARANTEE

This web site is designed to offer the enjoyment afforded by an online exhibition open to all, with transactions made for mutual benefit. I am at heart an enthusiast and collector, not merely a dealer, and I believe other collectors make up an international fraternity with a shared passion. I intend to be around for the forseeable future, so a win-win policy is the only way forward. Experience, familiarity, fastidious research, thorough examination, careful comparison and access to the opinions of experts mean that I am able to provide a guarantee - or refund of purchase price and/or traded items - that my descriptions are true and accurate.