Saffronart auction of Indian art fetches Rs 17 crors

Out of the 95 Modern and Contemporary Indian works put on auction, 77 per cent were sold of which 47 per cent exceeded their higher estimates with competitive bidding from India and international buyers in the Middle East, USA, East Asia and South-East Asia.
The highest individual sale fetched Rs 1.87 crore for an untitled work by Akbar Padamsee closely followed by FN Souza's "Old City Landscape" which went for Rs 1.82 crore, reported the auction house.

Dinesh Vazirani, CEO, Saffronart, said, "The results have exceeded our expectations with eight works selling for more than Rs one crore. The market responded well to works of art by the modernists at attractive estimates."

Works by M F Husain, Manjit Bawa, Subodh Gupta and S H Raza were among the eight lots which were auctioned for more than Rs one crore.

Compared to its June auction, there was an increase by 41 per cent of the value of average lots sold this time.

"The competitive bidding at each closing clearly demonstrated that the Indian art market has regained momentum, with prices of high quality artworks appreciating significantly," Vazirani said.