Company History

T.N. Natesan The business traces it's humble beginning way back to 1930 in erstwhile Travancore. The Late founder T.N Natesan, who was then a boy, approached a renowned hermit (Sree Narayana Guru) for seed capital to start a business. He was given rupees two to get started. He began by making tiny little carved ivory buttons that he would carry by bus to Kodaikanal to hawk to visiting tourists.

Sree Narayana Guru Close contact with a British lady by the name of B.M Tweedle helped him establish his business as a shop in the posh Spencer’s Hotel, then a British Company. The business by then also included buying and selling antiques, an upcoming area of interest in pre-independence India.

Svetoslav Roerich One of the most knowledgeable antique collectors of the times, Dr. Svetoslav Roerich, the son of the famous painter, Nicholas Roerich was a frequent visitor to the shop. Sensing that the next generation had a deep interest in learning, he began training them. Roerich soon became a mentor, guide and tutor for the boys.

Mahadevan Natesan
with Mrs. Madhuri
Desai
In 1964 on the continued insistence of a noted art collector, Mrs. Madhuri Desai, the Company set up shop in Bombay. In her opinion a city like Bombay needed a reliable and knowledgeable antique dealer. Madhuriben, who was the daughter-in-law of Bhulabhai Desai was committed to art as she was heading the Bhulabhai Desai Institute. She helped the Company find a suitable location (the basement of the Jehangir Art Gallery) and even went to the extent of advancing money to renovate and buy stock. Years later Natesan's sponsors a Bhulabhai Desai publication - A Map of architectural and structural monuments of India. This map can be seen across the country till today.

H.E.Marthanda Varma of Travancore. To the right Kalesan Natesan and Mahadevan Natesan