C.L. Bharany
C.L. Bharany | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Chhote Lal Bharany 25 April 1926 |
| Died | April 27, 2021 (aged 95) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Art collector, gemstone dealer, textile expert |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent | Radha Krishna Bharany (father) |
Chhote Lal Bharany (25 April 1926 – 27 April 2021)[1][2] was an Indian art collector, prominent gemstone dealer, and textile connoisseur.[3] He is noted for preserving and expanding one of the most substantial private collections of Indian art, textiles, antiquities, and jewelry.
Early life and background
[edit]Bharany was born in Amritsar, India. His father, Radha Krishna Bharany (1877–1942), was an art and gemstone dealer who collected Indian textiles and miniature paintings. Radha Krishna Bharany loaned objects to institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.[4][5]
Following his father's death, Bharany inherited the family collection.[6] He studied under art historian Stella Kramrisch at the University of Calcutta.[5]
Bharany began his career in 1942 by expanding the family collection to include Mughal miniatures, textiles, bronze sculptures, tribal artifacts, and folk art.[4][7] His holdings included Mughal and Rajput textiles, phulkaris, kalamkari panels, pichhwais, and temple cloths.[8][9][10][11][12]
Collection
[edit]He assembled works by Indian masters such as Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Rabindranath Tagore, M.F Hussain, Satish Gujral, and S. H. Raza. Bharany’s collection included rare gemstones such as the 27.62-carat “Star of Bharany”, a Burmese star ruby, Golconda diamonds, Basra pearls, Kashmiri sapphires, Panjshir emeralds, and pigeon blood rubies.[13]
In 1976, Bharany donated hundreds of pieces to the National Museum of India in memory of his father.[14][15][16][17] These items became part of the museum's core textile and sculpture collections.[18][19]
His collection was featured in exhibitions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.[20] In 2014, the National Museum of New Delhi held an exhibition titled A Passionate Eye: Textiles, Paintings and Sculptures from the Bharany Collection, which includes selected pieces and historical commentary.[21][22][23][24]
Further reading
[edit]- Bharany, Chhote Lal. "Recollections," in Giles Tillotson (ed.), A Passionate Eye: Textiles, Paintings and Sculptures from the Bharany Collection, Marg Foundation, (vol. 65, no. 3). ISBN 9789383243006. 2014.
- Guy, John. “Indian Temple Sculpture.” In The Arts of India, edited by Vidya Dehejia, Smithsonian Institution, 1997.
- Crill, Rosemary. Indian Textiles. V&A Publications, 1995.
- Chandra, Pramod. On the Study of Indian Art. Harvard University Press, 1983.
- Archer, Mildred. Indian Miniature Painting. Thames & Hudson, 1972.
References
[edit]- ^ "Staff View: Bharany, Chhotelal 1926- :: RelBib". relbib.de. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ^ "Sad demise C.L.Bharany ad times of India". Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ^ "Illustration from the Bharany Ramayana". Kapoor Galleries. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ^ a b Chattopadhyay, Sohini (2014-04-17). "A Family of Fine Taste". Open The Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ a b "Pratapaditya Pal: Stella Kramrisch and Ananda Coomaraswamy". www.asianart.com. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ^ "Arrival of the groom at the palace, folio from a Ramayana". National Museum of Asian Art. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ^ Madhusree (2014-07-13). "Madhusree's Blog: The Bharany Collection - A rich private art archive on public display in New Delhi". Madhusree's Blog. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ "Collection Highlights from the Partition Museum, Town Hall, Amritsar". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ^ "Divine Pleasures - Painting from India's Rajput Courts" (PDF). Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ^ McInerney, Terence; Kossak, Steven M.; Haidar, Navina Najat (2016-06-14). Divine Pleasures: Painting from India's Rajput Courts, The Kronos Collections. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-1-58839-590-0.
- ^ Varadarajan, Lotika; Sharma, Sushmit (2018). Divyambara: Masterpieces of Costume from the Collection of the National Museum. National Museum. ISBN 978-81-85832-41-8.
- ^ Museum, The Partition (2020-07-19). "#MuseumJigsaw : a Phulkari from Punjab". The Heritage Lab. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ^ "Star Ruby... the eternal gemstone [The Star of Bharany Ruby]". www.starruby.in. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ MPost (2014-07-12). "Donation worth flaunting". www.millenniumpost.in. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ Radice, William (2003). Poetry and Community: Lectures and Essays, 1991-2001. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-81-8028-008-5.
- ^ "National Museum hosts first art exhibit by private donor". The Hindu. 2014-07-09. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ^ "National Museum showcases private treasure collection". The Times of India. 2014-07-18. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ Tripathi, Shailaja (2014-07-17). "Seeing colours". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ "Collector's Edition". The Indian Express. 2014-07-21. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ "Rama and Lakshmana Enter the City of Mithila to Perform in an Archery Contest," Illustrated folio from the “Bharany" Ramayana (The Adventures of Rama), 1780, retrieved 2025-05-03
- ^ "A Passionate Eye: Textiles, Paintings and Sculptures from the Bharany Donation". Eka Resources. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ Bhuyan, Avantika. "Out in the open". Archived from the original on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ Gupta, Gargi. "Chhotelal Bharany's passion for rare art and artefacts has benefited museums worldwide". DNA India. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ "A Passionate Eye: Walk in Delhi NCR, India Habitat Centre | What's Hot". Whats Hot. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
