Indian Art & Antiques

A curated collection of antique Indian art, ritual objects, and decorative crafts from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, South India and beyond.

India’s decorative traditions reveal a living dialogue between craft, devotion and daily life. This umbrella collection gathers brass and bronze ritualware, painted and lacquered boxes, architectural fragments and tribal art—handmade pieces drawn chiefly from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab, with expressive works from the Deccan, Bengal, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Each object carries the quiet patina of ritual and use: a paan dan with repoussé panels, a carved votive niche, a Dhokra bronze, a Barmer lacquer pot, or a temple vessel once used for offerings.

Regional and cultural origins

The desert kingdoms of Rajasthan and the trading routes of Gujarat shape much of what you’ll find here. Lacquerware from Barmer glows in deep reds and ochres; carved jaali and jharokha details recall sandstone haveli façades in Jaisalmer and Shekhawati; and Punjab contributes robust brass and iron for domestic and agrarian use. Many of the pieces you'll see here are specific to individual tribal communities; Rajput and Marwari courts; pastoral Rabari, Kathi and Merwari groups around Kutch; and artisan castes whose skills passed quietly from one generation to the next.

Craft, ritual and everyday life

In India, the sacred and the domestic interweave. Paan dan (betel boxes), masala dabba (spice containers), pani lota (water vessels), temple arti lamps and low bajot tables were made for everyday use yet finished with ceremonial care. Many were decorated with repoussé brass, incised lacquer or painted gesso—the belief being that beauty and ritual belonged equally to the rhythms of home. For collectors, these pieces connect daily utility with quiet spirituality, bridging art and anthropology.

Tribal and folk traditions

Alongside courtly and urban craft sit powerful vernacular forms. The Dhokra bronzes of Bastar and Kondh origin—cast by lost-wax (cire perdue)—carry mythic animals, riders and deities. From Banswara come painted Gangaur dolls honouring Parvati; from Nagaland, cowrie-worked baskets used in rites of fertility and exchange. These works preserve story, identity and protection in tangible form—folk sculpture at its most intimate and symbolic.

Materials and techniques

Northern workshops excelled in brass and copper, producing tiffin carriers, temple buckets and jewellery caskets with crisp seams and forged handles. Western artisans developed distinctive Rajasthani lacquer—pigments layered and then scratched back to reveal pattern. In the south, rosewood and jackfruit carving sits beside sensitive bronze casting; in Bengal and Orissa, tribal metalwork reaches lyrical refinement. Stone and teak fragments bear chisel marks and pigment traces that speak of centuries of handling.

Architecture and ornament

Architectural pieces in this collection include Gujarati home temples, lintel panels salvaged from old Indian buildings, carved votive shrines from Andhra and Himachal, and elements of jharokha windows and haveli screens. Once embedded in domestic or temple façades, they filtered light, framed ritual and signalled status—miniature architectures of faith and family life. Many of these pieces, (and larger) can also be found in our Architectural Carvings & Ornament collection.

Together these objects form a journey through India’s material and spiritual landscapes—where an artisan’s hand, a devotee’s gesture and a collector’s eye meet in shared reverence for form, function and faith.

Explore related collections: Indian Brass & Homeware Decor, Painted & Lacquered Indian Decor, Tribal Art & Folk Traditions, Architectural Carvings & Ornament, Decorative Stone & Ritual Objects.