Page 148 - Eye of the beholder

The naSli and alice heeraManeck collecTion of indian MiniaTureS
What Joseph Duveen in Paris was to Impressionism, Nasli Heeramaneck in Bombay was to the world of Indian miniatures. An art dealer at the age of 17, he moved to New York at the age of 23, with $75 in his pocket, and a trunk full of miniature paintings. About 100 years on, the 'Heeramaneck provenance' itself adds a 20% premium to the price of paintings that come to the market these days.
By the time I bought my first miniature painting, I was already deeply in love with everything about them: the history (Rembrandt collected them); the lurid scandals(Indian diplomats smuggling them in diplomatic bags); and their vivid beauty (I once counted Radha's left eye having 28 eyelashes) everything excited me!
“Perhaps because I could not afford to buy them in my early days of collecting,I have not made too many mistakes navigating the treacherous world of miniatures. The forensic scrutiny of the microstructure of the nose, the gaze of the eye, and the fine structure of the paper - the process of buying itself is a thrill!
I feel happy and proud when I see Adi and Kriti taking a genuine interest in the pieces that we have. They certainly do love these two new Raagmala miniatures - my most recent acquisition.
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