The Founder's Vision — Sunita Shekhawat — Museum of Meenakari Heritage

[momh-fv] Sunita Shekhawat at her drafting table, black and white

The Founder’s Vision

The Museum of Meenakari Heritage began as one person’s conviction that this craft deserved to be remembered, studied, and seen.

[momh-fv] A meenakari pendant in gold and green enamel held in the maker’s hands

A LIFETIME WITH MEENAKARI

Sunita Shekhawat has spent her working life in the company of enamel. As founder and lead designer of the House that bears her name, she has spent nearly three decades reviving forgotten palettes, commissioning ambitious pieces, and working alongside the sonars and meenakars of Jaipur. The Museum of Meenakari Heritage is the natural culmination of that work: a gift back to the craft, and to the city that gave it to her.

[momh-fv] Shekhawat Haveli exterior, black and white

The art of Meenakari is where centuries of devotion meet meticulous design. Each stroke, each shade is a testament to a legacy that continues to shape India’s cultural soul.

[momh-fv] Loose stones and tweezers on a jewellery design drawing

Why Museum

For years, the finest examples of meenakari were scattered, held in private collections, photographed in foreign museums, or known only to a handful of specialists. The founder’s vision was to gather this knowledge in one place, in Jaipur, where the craft has always lived.

Sunita Shekhawat · Museum Director & Founder

Sunita Shekhawat leafing through a book in the museum library

CRAFT AS SCHOLARSHIP

Central to her vision is the belief that meenakari deserves the same scholarship as any great art form. That conviction shaped every decision: the choice of Dr. Usha R. Balakrishnan to curate, the commissioning of faithful reproductions so that visitors could study pieces otherwise locked away, and the careful documentation that accompanies each work. The museum honours not only the art, but the artisans, the karigars whose names are rarely recorded yet whose hands carry centuries of skill.

[momh-fv] Sunita Shekhawat leaning over drawings at the drafting table

[momh-fv] Sunita Shekhawat standing at her studio desk

A CONTINUING COMMITMENT

The founder’s vision does not end with the museum’s opening. Through masterclasses, events, and a growing archive, the Museum of Meenakari Heritage continues her lifelong work of keeping this art alive, understood, and admired, for the generations of makers and admirers still to come.

Niharika and Digvijay Shekhawat framed by carved jaali screens

A Legacy in Evolution: The Next Chapter of Sunita Shekhawat

A decade later, the House of Sunita Shekhawat has become a thriving, family-run heritage house. As Niharika and Digvijay Shekhawat walked in their mother’s shoes, the brand effortlessly stitched its Jaipur-inspired craftsmanship into a global tapestry. They created a bridge between the traditional and the contemporary, bringing Rajasthan to the world.

The idea they share has also opened a fabulous new chapter—a joyful new one—the Museum of Meenakari Heritage (MOMH) in Jaipur, India’s first jewellery museum dedicated solely to the exquisite craft of enamel (Meenakari). A labour of love, it gives this delicately fine art form a breath of fresh air, preserving the waft of heritage with the spark of modernity for times to come.

The Shekhawat family’s devotion to innovation and tradition will ensure that this treasured art will continue to inspire for generations. The timeless House of Sunita Shekhawat overflows with love, reminding us that heritage never withers when watered with tenderness and imagination.

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