A Studio, A City, Countless Legacies
Shortlisted — History Literature Festival Book Awards 2025
Our book Vitrum is shortlisted for the History Literature Festival Book Awards 2025. Read the coverage on Scroll.in
Our History
Ceramics, mosaics, and a Bombay experiment
Founded in mid-20th-century Bombay by Polish refugees Simon and Hanna Lifschutz, Vitrum began as a pioneering ceramic-and-mosaic studio and quickly became a launchpad for generations of Indian artists.
After relocating to Bombay in the late 1940s, Simon established the Vitrum factory in Vikhroli; from it grew Vitrum Studio in 1954 on the ground floor of Rutton Villa, 143-B Cumballa Hill Road.
"Every tile tells a story":
At Vitrum, plates, tiles and tabletops were more than objects—they were experiments. Powdered pigments met a hot kiln; modern Indian motifs met everyday use. Tap a piece to see the maker, date, and its journey from studio table to someone’s home.
Past Events
A Glazed History: Badri Narayan & The Vitrum Studio
Jehangir Nicholson Gallery, CSMVS
A Glazed History: Badri Narayan and the Vitrum Studio was a landmark exhibition that brought the story of the pioneering Vitrum Studio back into public view for the first time since its closure in the 1970s. Curated by Puja Vaish of JNAF, the exhibition presented over 75 previously unseen works – hand-painted ceramic tiles, plates, and mosaic pieces – from The Haresh Mehta Collection, alongside rare loans from private collectors, families, and public institutions.
Event photography courtesy Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation (JNAF), CSMVS Mumbai.
