A Pocket-Sized Art Gallery

The artwork deserves a second look too.

When Raja Ravi Varma established his lithographic press in Bombay in 1894, he changed how art travelled. Paintings were no longer reserved for palaces. Printed images reached ordinary households, influencing everything from calendars to packaging. By the time Sivakasi became India’s printing powerhouse, old matchbox labels had evolved into tiny canvases filled with tigers, elephants, deities, bold typography and striking colors.

They were never displayed inside museums, yet they quietly became some of the finest examples of matchbox art, Indian graphic design history and vintage Indian artwork.

Here’s the strange part. Millions recognized the tiger on the label. Almost nobody knew the artist who painted it. The illustrations travelled farther than the illustrators themselves.