Purathanam - Vintage Indian Prints, Antique Artefacts

 

Purathanam began in 2019 with a Kamadhenu, a worn, beautiful figure that arrived before we had a plan. She wasn’t chosen as our logo. She became it, because she was the first, and because she felt like the reason.

Purathanam means antiquity in Tamil and Malayalam. It is also a way of paying attention to the makers who are no longer here, to the hands that carved and painted and gilded, to the stories that rarely travel with the objects themselves.

Purathanam is a Mumbai-based heritage store carrying original Ravi Varma,  Vasudeo Pandya, Durandhar, Ramanujam  and many artists oleographs, vintage Indian lithographs, antique artefacts, Tanjore paintings, and heritage furniture pieces that have already lived full lives before they come to us. Our work is to make sure their stories don’t get lost. Every piece sourced with care, sold with its story.

 

The Founder:

Priya Joseph, Founder

I spent over a decade in administration and project monitoring, steady, useful work that was never quite mine. Then a spine injury took it away. I spent a year mostly horizontal, learning to sit up a few minutes at a time. I started painting. I read a great deal. I discovered I had been quietly interested in history and artefacts all along, and had simply never made room for it.

After moving to Mumbai, I began helping friends and designers source vintage props. What I found was a gap, not just in supply, but in knowledge. Objects were moving without their stories. Nobody was explaining why a 1903 Delhi Durbar lithograph matters, or what distinguishes a genuine Ravi Varma oleograph from a later reproduction. I wanted to be that voice.

I curate the collection, do the research, and write about what we carry. My husband Sreejish is my biggest support to run this as a business and my closest collaborator. Our customers, from over 50 cities across the world, have been with us since the beginning. Their trust is the real foundation of this work.

 

On Authenticity:

We source only from trusted collectors and established dealers. We never oversell condition, if there’s a scratch, you’ll see it. If we’re uncertain about provenance, we say so. We’d rather lose a sale than mislead someone who cares about what they’re bringing home.