The Collector

“The Jashn-Osianama is an effort to involve and expose people to the vast archive of art and artefacts we possess. None of these works are for sale—it is merely to generate an interest in India as a builder of knowledge,” adds Tuli,whose collection consists of Japanese Samurai amour ,Kabuto and Ningyo dolls,lithographs,out-of-edition books on art,Buddhist thanka paintings,oils,posters and advertisements from the realm of popular arts and photographs. “The theme tying all these together is war,peace and death. How does one take on the struggle with death? Art presents this in a non-violent manner. It draws parallels with other Asian cultures and makes connections with our colonial history,” he explains. “This is an important moment since we can define ourselves on our terms,as opposed to being defined by the West—as has been the practice all these years,” he adds.

The art grapevine has been buzzing with news that Tuli had defaulted on payments made to Christie’s auction house for the purchase of certain art works. While Christie’s has declined to comment,Tuli comes up with a quick defence. “Let it be known that Neville Tuli and Osian’s do not owe Christie’s a penny. The deal that people are talking about is not connected to Osian’s and I have all the documents to prove it,” he asserts.

Tuli is also looking forward to showing off modern and contemporary art works in Delhi on July 4 at the Habitat Centre.