Nilaya Anthology's 2026 festive showcase, 'The Art of Offering,' explores the ritual of giving through curated objects and two collaborations. Featuring terracotta sculptures inspired by South Indian temple guardians and handwoven panels rooted in Odisha's weaving traditions, the exhibit delves into cultural memory and craftsmanship. On view in Mumbai, it celebrates the meaning behind creation and preservation.
This festive season, Nilaya Anthology in Mumbai has turned its attention to the ritual gestures of votive offerings. Titled 'The Art of Offering', the second chapter of its annual festive showcase opened on 9 October 2026, following last year's 'The Art of Hosting', which explored the rituals of gathering through immersive tablescapes by Eeshaan Kashyap, Shilo Shiv Suleman, Sona Reddy, and p é r o.
Moving from the act of hosting to that of giving, this year's presentation considers what we choose to make, preserve and offer, and how ritual objects can become vessels of personal and collective meaning. The showcase brings together a considered selection of ritual objects, including thaalis, vessels, and lamps, alongside two design collaborations that draw on India's diverse material traditions and visual histories.
"Like 'The Art of Hosting' before it, 'The Art of Offering' continues our exploration of the rituals and gestures that shape the way we celebrate. This year, we wanted to look at an offering not simply as something that is given, but as something made with intention. The line between design and offering is thinner than it appears, and meaning often accumulates through the gestures we repeat over time,” says Pavitra Rajaram, Creative Director, Nilaya Anthology.
The first, 'Guardians of the Threshold', brings together Auroville-based studio potter Adil Writer and traditional terracotta sculptor N. Palanisamy from Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu. The sculptural collection draws inspiration from the mythological chimaera known as 'Yali' — portrayed with the head and the body of a lion, the trunk and the tusks of an elephant, and sometimes bearing equine features — Dwarapalas or gate guardian often portrayed as a warrior or fearsome giant, usually armed with a weapon, and other mythical guardians found at South Indian temple entrances.
The series combines Palanisamy's inherited knowledge of monumental terracotta work with Writer's experimentation with glazes, soda firing, and ceramic chemistry. Together, their practices demonstrate how traditional forms can accommodate contemporary interpretations without losing their cultural specificities and histories.
The second collaboration, 'What the Eye Remembers', features a series of handwoven panels by Boito, the Odisha-based label founded by Richa Maheshwari. Working with silk and the regional ikat and Habaspuri weaving traditions, the series takes inspiration from the deity Jagannath (Lord of the World), one of Odisha's most recognisable cultural icons. His distinctive circular eyes and simplified geometry appear alongside turtle motifs, exploring how symbols and visual languages travel across generations through material, memory and craftsmanship.
Together, 'The Art of Offering' and its accompanying design collaborations explore different expressions of cultural memory, material knowledge and making — asking how the things we create, preserve, and offer forward can carry meaning beyond themselves.
The 2026 festive showcase in on view at Nilaya Anthology from 9 October 2026. Follow @nilaya.anthology on Instagram.
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