Phillips Antiques:
A Bombay Legacy in Brass, Glass and Memory
Standing gracefully across from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Phillips Antiques has stood witness to more than a century and a half of Mumbai evolution – from the colonial port city of Bombay to today’s modern megalopolis. What began as a modest pharmacy in 1860 gradually evolved into a custodian of art, design, and heritage.
Hallowed Beginnings
In 1860, Bombay was a thriving port city, pulsating with new ideas and the varied influences that migrants brought. It was here that Mr. Phillips founded Phillips & Co., in both Bombay and Poona with an eye on the European residents and Indian elite. Alongside other colonial-era institutions like Army & Navy Stores and Whiteaway Laidlaw, it represented the refined charm of 19th-century Bombay – a city discovering luxury and leisure through imported goods and new lifestyles.
At the turn of the century, Bombay was seeing life-altering changes in its politics, architectural skyline and lifestyle of its residents. The design style of Art Deco found its ground in the 1930s, and Phillips moved into its current home at Waterloo Mansions, a grand Gothic-style structure that was once occupied by the Rolls Royce Motor Company. Facing the Wellington Fountain, the new location became part of one of the city’s most photographed precincts.
Around this time, the store entered a new era under Issa Haji Soomar, a merchant from Porbandar in Gujarat. Under his ownership, Phillips expanded its range, from pharmaceuticals to fine perfumes, leather goods, and photographic supplies. The shop reflected Bombay’s growing cosmopolitanism – where tradition and modernity coexisted effortlessly and with style.
Courtesy: Phillips Antiques
A Collector’s Paradise
Three decades later, the store had evolved into a lavish emporium brimming with European and Oriental antiques. Under D. H. Issa, Soomar’s son, the store became a sanctuary for antique collectors of crystal chandeliers, gilded clocks, German and French porcelains and Chinese ceramics.
Many of these pieces came from Indian royal estates, as Issa’s relationship with the maharajas and nobility allowed their heirlooms to find new admirers in the city. The 1960s and ‘70s brought a turning point. With the abolition of the royal privy purses in 1971, many princely families began parting with their heirlooms leading to a wave of antiques entering the open market. Phillips, now guided by Habib Issa, became a key player in this transition, offering pieces of history to Bombay’s growing community of collectors and art lovers. Habib’s own passion for Chinese porcelain and French glass reflected the global lens through which Bombay viewed itself.
In the 1980s, Farooq Issa joined the business while studying Ancient Indian History at Elphinstone College. Under his vision, Phillips began to look inward, shifting its focus to Indian art, including miniature paintings, sculpture, and tribal crafts.
The 1990s saw diversification expansion with The Planter’s Chair, a warehouse space in the docklands dedicated to mid-century, Art Deco, and colonial furniture. The workshop also produced faithful reproductions of Pierre Jeanneret’s Chandigarh furniture, bridging Indian modernism and timeless craftsmanship.
Phillips Images was launched in the 2000s to bring India’s visual history to a wider audience through reprints of old lithographs, maps, and photographs, ensuring that early representations of India and its life remained accessible to those who cherished the past.
Courtesy: Phillips Antiques
A Milestone
In 2020, Phillips celebrated 100 years of the Issa family ownership, with the fifth-generation represented by Faisal Issa joining the legacy institution. Educated at Warwick and SOAS, Faisal’s arrival signalled a continuity of curiosity. His academic background in Indian aesthetics and art continues to shape Phillips as it navigates the 21st century – a store that has endured by evolving while staying rooted in beauty, history, and design.
Today, Phillips & Co. stands not just as a retail landmark, but as a reflection of Mumbai’s enduring charm – a city where Gothic arches meet Deco lines, and where every piece tells a story of time, taste, and transformation.
Courtesy: Phillips Antiques
