By IANS
New Delhi : Simple yet elegantly done up, New York’s famed Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new shop in south Delhi is attracting hordes of people every day with its wide range of merchandise that are based on actual works of world famous artists and sculptors displayed in the museum.
Called the Metropolitan Museum of Art Store and located in the Saket area of the capital, the stream of visitors has come as a pleasant surprise to the museum authorities, who had initially been hesitant to begin their Indian venture.
“I had to try hard to convince the museum authorities that the concept will work here because they felt India was not yet ready to appreciate this idea,” Karan Jain, the man behind the store, told IANS.
“Finally they decided to come here and visited Delhi and Mumbai and were impressed by the skyscrapers that were mushrooming all around and the development that is taking place in every field. Hence they gave in,” he said.
Jain, who has spent a good 20 years of his life in America, always held the Metropolitan Museum in awe.
“It was one of those places where we were taken to for school trips and exhibitions. Years down the line when I saw one of its licensed stores in Singapore, I was impressed and felt that something like this will definitely work in India as well since the products are all related to art, culture and history and will give collectors of art an opportunity to appreciate authentic designs which can otherwise be seen only in museums,” Jain said.
Among the various items made available are a Medici horse based on a model by Renaissance period sculptor Giovanni Bologna, Russian imperial blue and white crystal earrings based on intricate border designs by Russian jeweller Peter Carl Faberge and the torso of a boy based on the work of Greek artists during the Roman period of works.
Most of the merchandise at the store comprises jewellery.
According to Jain, the museum’s products are developed through careful research and expert execution by the Metropolitan’s staff of art historians, designers and master craftspeople, who ensure that each reproduction bears the closest possible resemblance to the original.
An array of other articles like glassware, ceramics, prints, posters and museum publications are also available in the store, making high-quality reproductions of world-famous works of art accessible to everyone.
“The price range of the products is from Rs.100 to Rs.500,000, making them accessible to one and all. We are not only targeting the high-end crowd but the middle income sector as well,” he said.
Encouraged by the response that the store has been receiving, Jain now plans to now open similar stores in Mumbai and Bangalore too.
“I will take the store to Mumbai and Bangalore by the middle of next year. Also, I am planning to open stores in Hyderabad, Pune and Chandigarh, and also in Agra and Jaipur. The idea is to reach across to a wide audience,” Jain said.