Serendib at the gallery

By Rangi Akbar

I had never been fasci nated by old paintings. I had always thought them to be boring, musty and the stuff that people who had more money than sense, collected. That was until I walked into The Serendib Gallery at Rosmead Place, Colombo 7.

Maybe the well-lit gallery caught my fancy. In no time I was browsing around its vast corridors peeking at paintings I knew to be of David Paynter, George Keyt and Ivan Pieris, to name a few.

Proprietor Mohan Daniel whom I had known from our Trinity days was delighted, that I had at last taken an interest in art and went into great detail to explain the contents of his well stocked studio which ranged from paintings and sculpture to rare books on Ceylon, antiquarian maps, carefully selected antique furniture, silver ware, porcelain, old photographs and picture post cards from the turn of the century, cabinet model gramophones etc., etc.

Speaking to Mohan Daniel about his gallery was like opening the floodgates of a dam. The words simply flowed and I was taken into a different world. A world full of paintings, books, maps and objects d'art. A place where time stood still.

Books have always fascinated me and I spent more time in that section looking at old maps of Sri Lanka (Ceilan then) from the Portuguese, Dutch and British periods and at books on Sri Lanka dating back to the 1600's.

The Gallery has a good collection of books, first editions at that and is adding more books to its collection. "They could be used for reference as long as they are used carefully. If I don't have a book which is required, I go looking for it," said Daniel.

He went on to say that he has many inquiries for books. "Recently I even had a call from the Middle East from a person who surprisingly wanted to know whether I had any books on Ayurveda and I was able to oblige."

Taking me by the arm Mohan Daniel led me into the Gallery.

He had paintings by George Keyt, George Claessen, Ivan Peries, Justin Deraniyagala, Collette, Richard Gabriel, L.T.P. Manjusri, Harry Pieris, Stanley Abeyasinghe, G.S.Fernando, Lankatilleke, David Paynter, Gate Mudaliyar Tudor Rajapakse, Jan Cook, Jamini Roy, Donald Friend, Donald Ramanayake and a carefully selected collection of paintings by contemporary Sri Lankan artists.

There is a fine collection of paintings by members of the '43 Group. "Keyt and Ivan Peiris' fetch good prices at Sotheby's auctions in London," said Daniel showing me a number of Sotheby's auction catalogues.

"I must say that my clientele for paintings, books and maps are mostly Sri Lankan and I am happy to note that the younger generation are very much interested in what my Gallery has to offer. They are very discerning. If you go by their age group, they are all below 40."

Paintings of these recognised artists, other than the aesthetic value for which they are bought are also an investment which appreciates considerably in value. Even the old maps are works of art, which would add glamour and prestige to any home or board room. These too are good investments." Mohan Daniel says he requests his customers to give him the first option of purchasing, at the appreciated value of course.

Mohan Daniel told his man Friday to handle all incoming calls and settled down in a comfortable chair to narrate how he set about the Gallery, his past, present and his plans for the future.

"It had always been my ambition to set up a Gallery. My idea was to set up a place where a small art library could be built up. I already have a collection of books on art and artists could refer to them at leisure."

"One of the reasons for moving into these large apartments at Rosmead Place is to hold exhibitions so that the current generation of artists will have the opportunity to display and sell their paintings."

If you hope to find Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp among Mohan's collection, you will be disappointed but his collection of old lamps, Makara Thoranas, Pan Handas and water clocks are unique.

Mohan picked up his interest in books and paintings when he was a schoolboy. "Trinity has a fine library and I used to spend a lot of time in it. Of course we had paintings by David Paynter in the Chapel. We used to watch him at work as well." Other Trinitians whose works he has in his Gallery are George Keyt, Donald Ramanayake and Stanley Kirinde.

About the many interesting items Mohan has in his collection, he says that if someone is genuinely interested, he is able to give a brief description of the work, its history, what it symbolises etc., on request. He says that at the moment he is building up a collection of Old Kandyan jewellery as he has a special interest in them.

Other than the items mentioned above, there are other items such as old photographs, an exquisite collection of porcelain from the Ming Period, Celadon ware, Ginger jars, Japanese Satsuma, Old Meissen ware to Delft Blues. "We cannot specialise in everything, but we try," said Daniel.

The Gallery also has a collection of antiquarian prints of Ceylon dating back to more than 100 years. They take you back in time through the eyes of those who visited our shores in earlier centuries.

Mohan Daniel also writes on subjects dealing with antiquities. He gets assignments from local institutions and from abroad to trace details of people who lived during the Colonial era or the history of some institution. "I do it for the love of it," he says and for the knowledge he gains. "It keeps me going even after closing hours. I get so engrossed. I do not feel the time pass."

Mohan is helped, other than by his staff, by his daughter who though still in Grade 7 has developed a great interest in paintings and books and is able to identify any book or map in the Gallery.

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