A Collection Of Stories : an Interview with Jo Nambiar
Art & Deal Correspondent
Antiques bridge the disconnect with the past and stare at you with its vast baggage of stories. Art&Deal correspondent interviews the versatile antiquarian, Jo Nambiar, as he holds history in his hands.
An athlete, equestrian and a black-belt 4th degree exponent of Kung Fu, Jo Nambiar began his career in the early 1980s as a physical educationist and youth program coordinator at the International Youth Centre, New Delhi. He later did a twelve year stint as a tea planter with The Assam Company of the Inchcape Group. As an antique collector and numismatist, Nambiar has one of the largest collections of ancient coins and rare currencies in the country. It is an asset that the Reserve Bank of India recognises and borrows from for its annual “Coins and Currencies” exhibition. With a deep interest in fine art and culture, Nambiar also paints, sculpts and is a published novelist; he currently runs a media company in Bangalore, where he lives.
Art&Deal : What has driven your interest towards antiques? For how long have you been collecting, and what are your special interests?
Jo Nambiar: My love of history from childhood has been the primary driving force towards collecting antiques. The past has always held the answers to why, what and where we are. For me history has always been an area for “post-mortem” of the human condition as it exists today. It never stops fascinating me. My maternal grandfather first ignited that interest in me when I was six/seven years old. I have been collecting antiques for as long as I can remember, but a lot of them were also passed down to me by my ancestral home or tharavad as we call our family manor in Kerala. Various people preserved and handed down some interesting items which I now possess. Amongst them are coins from Before Christ (BC), the Vaideshwara bronze statue, a weapon, an ancient lock, an ola manuscript, and other items like vessels, seals, stamp-paper documents, rare books and others. Academically speaking, I am particularly interested in the coin and currency collection that I inherited and developed over the years, but many other artefacts that I today possess have interesting stories behind them. Like the Canova medallion which was once owned by the most prolific killer in history, Thug Behram. In their “Ancient Aliens Series”, History Channel did its own research on the Thugee and interviewed me regarding this medallion (Season 3, Episode 12).
A&D: ‘Tell us a little more about your currency collection’.
J N: My collection includes Indian and foreign currency, both ancient and modern, in copper, lead, silver and gold, as well as in various alloys. These include Roman and Chinese to ancient Indian, pre-Mughal and Mughal. Many are issues of the princely states of India. Some outstanding and rare ones belong to well-known dynasties of India – Satavahana, Chola, Vijaynagara, the Nizams and Tipu’s period. The collection also includes punch-marked coins, hundi notes and other paraphernalia related to negotiable and barter instruments used during historical times. I possess numerous
temple coins, tokens and medallions. There is pre-independence British currency as well as post-independence currency, some rare but currently still in use. Some are RBI’s limited-issue currency that saw limited circulation and is in mint condition. My currency collection exceeded the 16,000 mark a few years ago.
