Indian Studio Lotus has created a jewellery showroom and museum paying homage to Jaipur’s unique architecture. The capital of Rajasthan in India is famous for its architecture using red sandstone. The Minakari enamel museum combines modern elegance with the beauty of traditional Mogul and Rajput architecture. The architects wanted the purchase of Sunita Shekhawat’s luxury jewellery to involve learning about the history of jewellery making in India, Persia and Afghanistan.
Sunita Shekhawat’s most important showroom fits in perfectly with the surrounding development. The entire façade is made of red sandstone brought from Jodhpur. The origin of the stone is no coincidence, as Shekhawat hails from this very city. The heavy and monumental body of the building is softened by numerous ornaments of Mogul architecture.
Architectural conquest
The Mogul leader Babur conquered the Indian peninsula in the 16th century. The people, who came from the north, brought with them Persian, Mongolian and Arabian influences. For this reason, the architecture of the Shekawat saloon may be associated by some with Middle Eastern architecture. Noticeable are the Islamic trusses made of sandstone. Enclosed balconies separated by an Arabic lattice (masrabiyya) give the massing a lightness. The trusses in the wall are jali panels, also taken from Islamic architecture. The openings are arranged in geometric, repeating shapes. The solid colour, on the other hand, is a feature of North Indian architecture (the Red Fort in Dehli).
The interiors of the building also impress with traditional ornamentation. The ground floor is a minakari art museum. The museum is designed to familiarise customers with the almost five-hundred-year history of this type of art in India. The minakari enamel patterns are geometric and fine, and their blue-green colour can be associated with paradise. The name minakari means putting paradise or heaven on something. The decorations were applied to dishes, vases, frames and jewellery. The museum’s exhibition has been prepared by experts in jewellery history.
Heavenly ceilings
As you descend into the basement, you will notice a spiral staircase connecting all the floors. This is also the beginning of the jewellery showroom. The shop does not resemble a typical showroom. There are no classic jewellery showcases and the showroom is more associated with a luxury flat. This exclusive character of the shop adds to the brand’s sense of prestige.
Each room of the shop features original stucco and elegant décor. The rooms are lined with grey, glossy limestone stucco. The vaults have been decorated with frescoes depicting, the city, architecture, fauna and flora. Twelve artists worked on the paintings over several months. The colourful ceilings are a detail against the grey walls. The grey should not distract from the jewellery.
Prestige of craftsmanship
The first floor houses the offices, workshops and studios of the craftsmen (karigars). The workers need natural light, so jewellery is made on the first floor. The rooms are lined with lime plaster and stone. The floor is decorated with terrazzo. It is worth noting that the high price of Sunita Shekhawat’s jewellery is linked to the specialised art of craftsmanship. It takes 363 hours of work to create one of the rings by hand.
The new jewellery showroom and museum in Jaipur is an exemplary example of combining luxury with tradition. The building does not need glass, steel or exuberant shapes to emphasise the prestige of the brand. Blending in with the city’s distinctive buildings, the exterior impresses with ornamentation familiar from the great Mogul buildings. The interior is characterised by elegance combined with traditional frescoes. A great sense of the area and aesthetics makes the building a work of art.
Photo source: Studio Lotus
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