Inside Pettagam, India’s first private museum for Chettinad jewellery

In each Chettiar family sits a pettagam, a big, conventional iron chest or strongbox that shops the household’s valuables. Extra importantly although, it holds the jewelry handed down by a number of generations. These iron chests include advanced lock mixtures and, in some households, have remained unopened for years, as newer generations are but to discover a option to bypass the mechanics.

A cheery, shiny yellow constructing with inexperienced home windows tucked away in Karaikudi, nonetheless, guarantees a deep dive into the wealthy and layered historical past of the jewelry of the area. That is Pettagam, India’s first non-public museum for Chettinad jewelry, conceived by jewelry designer Meenu Subbiah.

Among the many earliest graduates from South India on the Gemological Institute of America, Meenu has been engaged on conventional Chettinad jewelry and exploring modern designs by her model, Meenu Subbiah Jewelry, which she based together with her father in 1993.

“Chettinad, very similar to its mansions, delicacies, and textiles, has lovely jewelry, created with deep that means. Each motif you see has a function and historical past. Nonetheless, this fascinating legacy has not been documented effectively sufficient,” says Meenu. This led her to embark on almost 20 years of analysis, as she sought to delve deeper into the Natukottai Nagarathar neighborhood and their historical past with commerce, valuable gems, and jewelry. “I travelled throughout the nation, and to Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and several other different locations to talk to members of the neighborhood, historians, and anybody else who may share some perception and nuance,” says Meenu.

In Karaikudi, we step into the fruits of her travels and analysis at Pettagam, the place the primary ground is devoted to tracing the historical past of the Nagarathar neighborhood that Meenu belongs to. She factors out that the Silappadhikaram, the Tamil epic, paperwork the Nagarathars as merchants of rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and pearls as early because the 2nd Century.

A show on the museum
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association

By way of jewelry distinctive to the neighborhood — such because the kazhuthuru, an decoration given to a Nagarathar bride throughout marriage, and the gowrishankaram, thought-about to be crucial decoration worn by males throughout occasions and ceremonies together with weddings — we study concerning the uncommon and dwindling artwork of the close-setting approach. This method, utilized in lower than 10% of conventional jewelry, securely encases diamonds or different valuable gems from the perimeters and again, within the valuable steel used to make the piece.

“This can be a fairly advanced and time-consuming artwork, and we sadly have a dwindling variety of artisans who nonetheless practise it. By way of Pettagam, we have been eager on reviving this dying artwork. Items made with this system are sturdy and include a lot nostalgia; they’re items of the guts, and no machine could make this type of jewelry,” Meenu says. At Pettagam, a separate show showcases the instruments utilized in crafting jewelry by the close-setting approach.

One other aspect she highlights are the distinctive motifs — from crabs and peacocks, to bows, laces, and conches that recur in Nagarathar jewelry. “Nagarathars who travelled have been stated to comply with the crab routes, which is why it finds a spot of prominence in lots of items, together with our thirumangalyam (marriage decoration). Bows and laces are believed to have originated from visits to the royal household in England,” she says.

Whereas the bottom ground additionally has an AV room enjoying a movie that takes guests by the prominence of jewelry in Nagarathar tradition, the primary ground is a devoted house for jewelry showcases. “Other than heirloom items my household owns, I hope to have a rotating show of beautiful conventional items sourced from completely different households on this area. Alongside this can be a showcase of jewelry from my manufacturers as effectively, which may even be out there for buy,” Meenu says.

Mayil Maguri
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association

Her newly launched model, Vilasam, which specialises in conventional Chettinad jewelry can have a spot of prominence on the museum, additionally highlighting the close-setting approach. Up to date jewelry from her Menaya model, and jewelry particular to completely different components of the nation, together with guttapusalu from Andhra Pradesh and kaasu maalai from Kerala, tailored as a part of the Vamsam vary, may even be showcased.

Pettagam now joins the ranks of personal jewelry museums throughout the nation, just like the Amrapali Museum in Jaipur, which spotlights distinctive craftsmanship and strategies whereas documenting jewelry legacies. Meenu provides, “Each area in our nation has a wonderful ancestral legacy in jewelry, and these legacies should be protected and preserved. This museum is a crucial archive of Chettinad and its jewelry, whereas additionally underscoring the significance of preserving conventional jewellery-making strategies.”

Pettagam is at SRM Road, Karaikudi, and opens for guests from October 1. Visitors can go to by making an appointment through e-mail at concierge@meenusubbiah.luxe or by cellphone at 9566503736. Entry is free.

Revealed – September 22, 2025 04:35 pm IST