Now, art auction goes mobile

 
Ushering in this new mode of business in art is Saffronart, which has become the world’s first online art auction house to offer an auction-bidding application for mobile devices.
The company said it had acquired software that offered all the features of website bidding, including placing bids and proxy bids, viewing bid histories as well as previews of sales. Apart from art, bidders can also take part in the auction of contemporary jewellery on the platform.

Saffronart CEO and co-founder Dinesh Vazirani says on this new turn to art auctioning: “By providing clients with this cutting-edge and comprehensive application, we hope to accelerate the pace of innovation in the global auction space. This mobile application, the first of its kind globally for fine art auctions, offers a new, convenient and secure bidding experience to our clients, and enables collectors to engage with Saffronart in more places and with fewer boundaries.”

The mobile bidding application is downloadable from Saffronart’s website and works seamlessly on most Java-enabled mobile phones, Vazirani says. The application is fully equipped with all the features of website bidding.

Those making online bids for art would be able to know the status of their bid through a colour-coded bid status indicator. The mobile bidding technology is being used for the first time at Saffronart’s annual autumn online auction of modern and contemporary Indian art on September 9-10, in which artworks by 52 leading artists would be sold.

The auction repertoire comprises works by the likes of Akbar Padamsee, Surendran Nair, Manjit Bawa, Ram Kumar, Subodh Gupta, S H Raza, Shibu Natesan and F N Souza.