A glimpse of the world's only utensil museum.

1. T H E V E C H A A R
U T E N S I L S M U S E U M ,
A H M E D A B A D
B Y :
C H A I N A S I N G H A L
M . A . C o n s e r v a t i o n ,
P r e s e r v a t i o n a n d H e r i t a g e
M a n a g e m e n t

2. ABOUT THE MUSEUM
• It is an initiative underVECHAAR
(Vishalla Environmental Centre for
Heritage of Art,Architecture and
Research) foundation, founded and
managed by Surendra C.Patel.
• Inaugurated on 27th April,1981.
• Museum display has more than 4000
traditional utensils of all imaginable
shapes and sizes.

3. COLLECTION
• Besides the usual kitchen utensils, the museum also houses unique accessories
like water storage pots ranging from small Loti to huge Tamba kundi
(buckets), milkman’s pot to measure milk, trays, masks worn by
dancers in South India, thookdani (spittoons), hookahs, opium maker,
Kajal holders, rose water sprinklers, spouted jugs, thermos, conical
flasks used in Parsee Marriage, huge dowry boxes, coffee filters,
geysers, multi purpose hairpins and many more.
• Various Pooja objects are also on display; kakanwati, diyas, yantra, yagna
kunds etc.
• More than 700 types of Locks and 800 types of Nut-crackers on display.

4. Objects are crafted using Copper, Brass, Iron, German Silver,
Bronze, Zinc, Leather, Earth,Terracotta,Wood and Panch Dhatu
(combination of five metals).
Objects are believed to be manufactured by casting, hammering and
forging. Surface decoration of some objects is done by Incrustation,
Inlay, Chasing, Engraving, Casting and Punching.
MATERIAL USED
TECHNIQUES USED

5. DOMESTIC VESSELS
TAMBA KUNDI (A Bucket) WATER FETCHING POTS
(Pitcher)
TOILI (A child’s feeder)
VADHI (A pot for pouring oil and
ghee)
HOLY WATER JUGS
PALU (A spittoon)

6. HOOKAH AND CHILLUMS
POOJA OBJECTS (including Dhupdan, Arati, Achamani, etc.)
MULTI PURPOSE HAIRPINS
KALAM-DAVAT ( inkwell and
pencase)

8. NUTCRACKERS (सरौता)

9. LOCKS (ताले)

10. DISPLAY
• Traditional way of keeping Utensils.
• Objects are kept in an open display ; with no artificial
barrier of a glass facade coming in between.
• The middle portion of the museum is open to sky and the
four sides are roofed.
• This open portion of the structure provides brightness to
the display area without the rays falling directly on exhibits.
Artificial yellow lights are also used for additional
illumination.
• Individual labels are provided to a group of similar objects
or the highlight of the collection.
• On the left side of the walking aisle, the part is artificially lit
(major collection is displayed here) , while the right side is
naturally lit (bigger objects are kept here).
• For galleries named according to their directions,
Dakhineshwar, Sandhya, Uttrakhand and Purab.

11. Uttrakhand Gallery
Sandhya Gallery
Dakshineshwar
Gallery
Poorab Gallery

12. STORAGE
• Museum has a specific area for storage.
• To our surprise, there are more than
4000 objects in storage, that are yet to
be displayed.
• Larger objects are placed within racks
and shelves while smaller objects are
secured in trunks and cupboards.
• Daily inspection of storage room is
carried out.
STORAGE ROOM (Enough space left for
moving around)

13. DOCUMENTATION
• An individual Inventory Card
with the picture of the object.
• General Accession
Registers have been prepared,
in both Manual and Digital
format.
• Approximately 4500 objects
have been documented already.
• Documentation of more than
3000 artifacts, still in process. INVENTORY CARDWITH DETAILS

14. Manual documentation register including Serial Accession
number, type and description of the object, its anatomical
information and other necessary details.
Digital register includes Object type,
object photo and conservation
status also.

15. CONSERVATION
• Daily inspection of display as well as storage area by the curator and the staff.
• Dusting is done thrice a day (Ahmedabad, being hot and dry city faces dust storms in
summer evenings).
• No specific place for conservation.
• The objects are mostly inorganic and are stable in nature.
• Indigenous methods of cleaning are followed i.e., dipping the objects in lemon or
tamarind water overnight, followed by drying and daily observation.
• For any curative treatment further required, professional curators are consulted.

16. ACTIVITIES
• Demonstration session for visitors about
the utensil. Museum acquires a variety of
locks, visitors are given a task to unlock
one or two as a part of activity.
• Children’s day celebration often held.
• Vishalla performs a lot of workshops in
restaurant premises.

17. SECURITY
• The museum is well equipped with
CCTV Cameras, gallery
attendants in each gallery as well as
guards on the entrance.

18. MUSEUM PREMISES
• In the centre of the museum, there is a
ShivaTemple with the Nandi.
• Recreation of a traditional village
home with basic essentials and a
women grinding flour.
• Museum co-exists withVishalla
restaurant, which servesTraditional
Gujrati cuisine with the original
ambience.
Recreation of a traditional
village home.

19. VISHALLA
RESTAURANT
COMPLEX

20. GENERAL DETAILS
• VISHALLA,VASANATOLLTAX NAKA
• 3PMTO 10:30PM
• CLOSED ON MONDAYS
• ENTRY FEE ₹10 (CHILD) , ₹20 (ADULT) , ₹50(FOREGN
NATIONALS)
• Museum has facility like benches for rest in the galleries, wheelchairs for
differently abled, ramps for easy movement of visitors, and senior citizens.
• The audio guide facility is in progress.

21. CONCLUSION
• It is a matter of pride that how our ancestors without much technical knowledge,
designed these utensils in a singular blend of aesthetic sophistication and functionality.
• However, these masterpieces of traditional India continue to melt away in furnaces
along with the technique used to make them.
• The Utensils Museum deserves the credit of having saved at least a few of them.
• TheVechaar Museum infuses a new respect in the visitors for the old vessels in their
own home so that they might think twice before selling it off to Kabadiwala.
(Hopefully, they might donate it to theVechaarTrust and thus save a piece of our
heritage!)

22. THANK YOU!