The familiar walls of Chennai’s Apparao Gallery are grand today; A treat for the esthete’s eyes.
Look to the right, and you’ll find a floating alligator, its head, torso, and tail, each a separate piece of pure sterling silver. On the left you’ll find an eclectic jewelery set – earrings and a necklace – made entirely from the forelimbs of naturally depleted scarab beetles found in abundance in Thailand’s tamarind groves. Its greenish-blue metallic luster traces the line of one’s eye: a collector’s piece, no doubt about it. A lion sculpture made from a piece of sandalwood while retaining its natural shape, and completed with sterling silver has an Asian influence.
Thailand-based home decor, jewelry and accessories brand Lotus Arts de Vivre’s first ever solo exhibition in the city, held in collaboration with Tales of Asia, Heeramanek & Son and Apparao, each piece is a collectible as the founder of the brand had imagined Rolf von Buren, who immigrated to Thailand from Germany in the 1960s, has called the Asian nation home ever since.
Rolf von Buren with son Niklas | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
It is common knowledge that Rolf is a treasure trove of stories. A well-travelled and avid art collector, Rolf’s love for Thailand is intertwined with his appreciation for the country’s impeccable craftsmanship and art. “There is nothing more glorious than what we do not have, what seems out of reach” – this realization led to the founding of Kamal.
The beginnings of the von Buren family were simple. After World War II, when he moved from Germany to Thailand in 1962, he was armed only with an appreciation of masterful craftsmanship. It is this aspiration to grasp what appears to be unreachable that gradually led to Lotus, which began as merely a hobby business. The brand’s success is attributed to Thailand’s natural resources, craftsmanship, traditions and customs, and the people of the country.
On a Zoom call from Bangkok, Rolf says, “The West has contributed very little to civilization – wine, bread, opera, classical music… whereas all the good things like silk, pearls, rubies come from the East. In medieval times, after the West discovered a route to eastern countries such as India, courts all over Europe collected things they did not own, such as fossilized shark teeth thinking they were dragon claws. They were called the ‘miracle room’. It was the basis of all Western museums.
Scarab Cluster Earrings With Pink Tourmaline & Diamonds | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Rolf who has been collecting art, jewelery and functional objects for the past 40 years never misses an opportunity to remind the world of Asia’s vast pool of resources, craftsmanship and beautiful art.
He continues, “Thailand has an active and fully funded craft support system, paid for by the royal household. Most of our workers come from that source of education.” The beauty-turned-businessman says that Thai people have exceptionally good hands. They start tying knots and making cloth at an early age. So their hands are very agile. He said, We are lucky to have lived among such people for 40 years.
Carved Shell Gravy Bowl | photo credit: special arrangement
India is no stranger to Rolf – he travels frequently to the country in search of the crafts, resources and craftsmanship that often reflects in the brand’s products. He recalls, “Our first trip as a married couple was to Kolkata (earlier Calcutta), and there I had my first Jamawar [silk] And now we have a substantial collection of 170 pieces.”
Rolf loves the Indian mind and admits to being “fascinated by anything Indian”. He continues, “This Indian spiritual cover is all over Asia, it goes as far as Japan and China.” This has greatly inspired some of his collections. Perhaps, the Burl Wood Happy Monk is a physical manifestation of that.
Later this year, he plans to take an extensive trip to Varanasi to research textile traditions and crafts through factory visits, such as making clothes from peacock feathers obtained from old fans of Hare Krishna pilgrims.
Happy Monk Sculpture with Walking Stick | photo credit: special arrangement
Ask Rolf, after more than 40 years of collecting, what his most prized possession is, and he is ready with the answer: “My wife, who is Thai, has a seven-kilogram wedding sari from Lucknow covered with emeralds and Stitched from Basra. Pearl. Such things cannot be measured or valued, it is a memory, a rarity…”
Tales from Asia will be on display till January 31 at Apparao Gallery, Nungambakkam. Museums across India will have a talk on Jewelery by Deepti Sasidharan on January 30 at 4 pm.