Tracing the popularisation of the panorama in photography, from its invention by a painter to the pioneering work of Felice Beato
Read more ...Coins of Ancient India: A Sarmaya roundup
Our new numismatic acquisitions span the timeline between 200 BCE and 950 CE, representing a diversity of epochs in that millennium
Read more ...One tradition, many lives: The Indian miniature
We welcome some priceless miniature paintings into our collection, including the Mughal Hamzanama by exploring the many traditions of this practice in the Sarmaya collection
How to collect rare coins in India
Madhubani paintings: Hidden Dalit histories
Hailing from a family of pioneering Dalit artists, Urmila Devi and Shravan Paswan talk about their trials and triumphs in the world of Madhubani art
Read more ...This Just In
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Why do we collect what we do? The inexorable pull of nostalgia. The simple human need to draw closer to beauty. The undeniable thrill of acquisition. All these influence the act of collecting. At our archive, each potential addition to the collection is judged by one other criteria: Can this object expand our understanding of the Indian subcontinent and its inexhaustible vault of stories?
Read more ...Learning Links Foundation
Madras Talkies – Reading List
Reeling them in – How Tamil cinema shaped politics
Thanjavur – Country of Gods & Kings
Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Thanjavur welcomed large communities of Telugu and Marathi speakers as a consequence of Nayaka and Maratha conquests in Cholamandalam. The result was a slow mingling and simmering of cultural influences, resulting in the unique artistic heritage of this temple town
Read more ...Postcards from Madras
Postcards began at the end of the 19th century as a new kind of crossover between photography and the popular print market. In a collaboration with Picture Postcard Empire, we bring you a virtual exhibition of intriguing postcards from the city of Madras
Pondicherry Dreaming – Inside French India
How native Tamil and colonial French influences come together in the charming melting pot of Puducherry
Read more ...The Curious Case of Chennai’s Elleesan & the Dravidian proof
Madras Talkies
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In 1639, a British trading company got permission from the local rulers to set up a factory on a thin strip of the Coromandel coast. Measuring about three square miles and lashed by the fury of the Bay of Bengal, Madraspatnam gave no early signs of the historic metropolis it would soon morph into
Read more ...Madras Chic: Textiles and jewels of Tamil Nadu
Temple jewellery, Kanjeevaram silks, pure cotton lace and the ever-chic Madras check—come with us on a style journey through the Madras Presidency
Read more ...Remembering Cholamandalam – The cultural legacy of the Cholas
The imperial Cholas patronised all manner of visual, literary, architectural and textile arts, in essence imprinting their larger-than-life personalities on every realm that they touched
Read more ...Divine Doorways – Gopurams of South India
Exploring the towering gopurams of south India through rare photographs of temples across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala
The Making of Madras
The history of the Madras Presidency is also the history of an embryonic nation finding its identity under colonial rule. We take you through some key moments, movements and personalities that shaped Madras and what would in time become India
Read more ...Name, Place, Animal, Wings!- Virtual Workshop
Artist Shailee Mehta conducted a fun virtual workshop for children ages 9 to 14 inspired by the themes of Sarmaya’s Mumbai show, ‘Shifting Selves’
reimagine II
Inside the studios and minds of seven contemporary artists who have interpreted and re-imagined objects from our collection to tell us stories in their unique styles