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Collectors

The Collectors: Rajan Bijlani

A trip to Chandigarh, India, launched a collecting frenzy that has ballooned into a 500-piece trove spanning early rope-strung prototypes to government-issued desks, sofas, and mountable chairs

By Ryan Waddoups
Man in a white shirt leaning on a table with an abstract painting in the background.
Rajan Bijlani at his townhouse gallery in London. Photo: GENEVIEVE LUTKIN

In 2004, Rajan Bijlani traveled to Chandigarh, India, to admire the Punjab capital’s monumental civic architecture and while there stumbled onto the quietly radical furniture conceived for the city by Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret. “I was astounded at its simplicity and sheer beauty,” recalls the dealer, whose London home doubles as a gallery. “The dark patina of the wood against the concrete was incredibly sculptural.”

Cozy dining room with wooden table and chairs, abstract silhouette artwork, and spherical light fixture.
A teak dining table and rosewood chairs by Pierre Jeanneret. Photo: OSKAR PROCTOR
Minimalist room with warm lighting, featuring a wooden stool, bench, table, and a yellow bowl on the table.
Emmanuel Cooper, Untitled (c. 2008-2010). Photo: Oskar Proctor

That visit launched a collecting frenzy that over the next three years ballooned into a 500-piece trove spanning early rope-strung prototypes to government-issued desks, sofas, and mountable chairs—all original, intact, and meticulously preserved.

I want people to see and understand the real thing”

Rajan Bijlani

On display: Now housed in late potter Emmanuel Cooper’s former studio in London, the collection has become an anchor for thought-provoking exhibitions that fuse art, architecture, and cultural memory. Bijlani’s inaugural show traced the legacy of partition through South Asian diaspora artists and Jeanneret furnishings, some reupholstered in Loro Piana cashmere.

Cozy living room with a lit fireplace, round mirror above, and mid-century modern furniture, including a wooden coffee table.
A Pierre Jeanneret Rattan Chair (1956) and Coffee Table (c. 1960,) and High Court Chair (1955-1956). Photo: Oskar Proctor
Cozy home office with a dark wood desk, abstract art on the wall, and chevron-patterned hardwood flooring.
In the study hangs Miyoko Ito’s Monongalhela (1961). Photo: Oskar Proctor

Up next: In October, Bijlani will display paintings by Frank Auerbach as well as ceramic works by Cooper and Lucie Rie presented on original Chandigarh tables and desks. “I want people to see and understand the real thing,” he says. “Not just its image but its soul.”

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Late Fall Issue under the headline “The Collectors.” Subscribe to the magazine.