Meant to be much more than just for feasting your eyes, coffee table books are showcase-worthy objets d’art, which like other collectibles, speak a lot about their owner’s tastes, traits and travels. If one were to think of making their home décor a more personalised expression, then the luxuriously crafted coffee table books are the perfect accessories which can add so much more to your interiors, as a table centerpiece in the living room, or on the mantel, or even on the dresser in your bedroom.
The exclusivity and exquisiteness of these art books make them trendy page-turners which connoisseurs collect and publishers, both in India and abroad, are producing with love [and careful consideration]. When Indian fashion designer Ritu Beri, in 2006, privately published her life’s story – Firefly: A Fairytale – and priced it at Rs 1 lakh a copy, one would have wondered about the incredulity of this price for a book. But the limited edition illustrated book not only sold out but is also remembered as an author-artist’s own successful foray into publishing. Speaking of which, today there are a handful of leading Indian publishers who are carrying the baton of publishing eye-catching coffee table books, which are as much works of art as those featured in it. Spanning across Indian imprints like Roli, Niyogi and Om and those from across the shores, like Assouline and Phaidon, here is Dextra India’s list of favourites from among the classic table-top tomes to add to your coffee table book shopping or gifting guide –
Dining With The Maharajas: A Thousand Years of Culinary Tradition by Neha Prasad (Roli Books)
A sumptuous edition, encased in velvet to make it that much more luxe, this is a must have for your collection. The visually stunning book showcases the rich culinary traditions of the royal families of Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Jodhpur, Mahmudabad, Mysore, Patiala, Rampur, Sailana, Tripura, Udaipur and in the process documents the extraordinary variety of royal cuisines, peppered with interesting secret recipes and exciting anecdotes from the royal households.
Jewels Of The Nizams by Usha R Bala Krishnan (India Book House)
Now, who has not heard of the Nizam of Hyderabad’s exquisite jewels, which has gained metaphorical status, but did exist in reality as the largest and richest collection of fine jewels in India. Historian and fine arts expert, Usha Bala Krishnan, has put in exhaustive research in this book, to allow the reader a rare glimpse into this treasure of boundless beauties, also featuring one of the best collections of gemstones, a legacy of India’s wealthiest ruling dynasties.
Gypset Trilogy by Julia Chaplin (Assouline)
The Gypset Trilogy [Style, Travel, Living], is a photo-rich, anecdote-studded, trio of books which foregrounds richly depicted, pictorially supplemented ‘explorations into the unconventional wander lust lives of the global bohemian – artists, surfers, designers, and bon vivants who live and work around the world. Part of international art book publisher Assouline’s Spring 2015 catalogue, these books have lovely covers which already convey the laid back luxury of a lifestyle espoused by the jet-setting global nomads.
Bollywood In Posters by SMM Ausaja (Om Books International)
One for the cinema enthusiasts and one that attempts to depict the colourful evolution of Bollywood, this hardcover book features the signature kitschy art of old school Bollywood posters with the heroine’s hand-painted thighs to the bright shirts of villains. A trophy to the changing lines of poster art, there are hand-painted posters and digitized ones from the author’s premier personal collection of film memorabilia.
Dior Glamour by Mark Shaw (Rizzoli)
This book is vintage Dior and features an exclusive collection of the lavish and iconic gowns designed by Christian Dior, from the 1950s and ’60s, captured by the legendary photographer Mark Shaw. This delectable book captures a decade of Dior’s haute couture in Shaw’s photographs, some of the first fashion photographs ever shot in color, and is a treasure trove of fashion history to grace your coffee tables.
You can purchase any of these titles from https://www.amazon.in
– Story by Shabnam Srivastava
