Tyed Mehta's 'Trussed Bull' sells for record Rs 61.8 crore at Saffronart auction

New Delhi: Within a fortnight of M F Husain's 'Gram Yatra' selling at a whopping Rs 118 crore at a Christie's auction in New York, his contemporary and modernist master Tyeb Mehta's 'Trussed Bull' went under the hammer for Rs 61.80 crore at Saffronart's 25th anniversary auction in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The sale also records the highest value achieved by Mehta and the second highest value work by an Indian artist sold in an auction worldwide, tied with Amrita Sher-Gil's 'The Story Teller' that went for the same price in 2023.

The 1956 painting, one of the first major works in Mehta's career defining series on the trussed bull, was estimated to go for Rs five to seven lakh, the auction house said in a statement.

Another of Mehta's works, an untitled acrylic on canvas sold at Rs nine crore, above its higher estimate of Rs seven crore.

The anniversary event also set a world record for the highest value sale of South Asian art at an auction, achieving a total sales value of Rs 217.81 crore, and concluding as a white glove, or 100 per cent, sale.

“We are thrilled to kick off our 25th year with a record-breaking USD 25 million white glove auction. The outstanding result for Tyeb Mehta’s powerful portrayal of a trussed bull from 1956 is testament to his enduring influence as a cornerstone of modern Indian art-made even more meaningful in his centenary year.

"This auction not only underscores the strength of the South Asian art market but also its increasing global prominence. For the past 25 years, we have been proud to help shape this evolution and remain dedicated to supporting its continued growth,” Dinesh Vazirani, Saffronart CEO and co-founder, said in a statement.

The auction featured an impressive catalogue of 75 lots with 80 per cent lots surpassing their higher estimates.

Included in the sale was a striking still life by Amrita Sher-Gil, titled 'Still Life with Green Bottles and Apples' (1932), which sold for Rs 24 crore. The work from Sher-Gil was rare as she painted only a handful of still-lifes during her career.

'Supper at Emmaus' (1987) by F N Souza sold for Rs 15.30 crore, depicting Caravaggio’s instrumental 17th-century painting of the same name. It is among a series of paintings centred around Biblical themes that Souza made in the 1980s.

Other highlights from the sale include 'Lake at Oodeypore, India', Circa 1893 by Edwin Lord Weeks, which sold for Rs 12 crore, and Sakti Burman’s 'Durga', Circa 1995, which went for Rs 7.20 crore.

An untitled work by Ram Kumar was auctioned for Rs 6.12 crore, 'Landscape of Hampstead, London' by F N Souza for Rs 5.7 crore, and a Raja Ravi Varma portrait, 'Narayani', for Rs 4.2 crore.

"For 25 years, Saffronart has redefined the Indian art market with transparency, accessibility, and innovation, expanding the reach of Indian art far beyond the diaspora. We are delighted that our 25 Year Anniversary Sale achieved the highest value auction for South Asian art globally, recording sales of USD 25 million," Minal Vazirani, Saffronart president and co-founder, said.

The auction also featured modern and contemporary artists such as S H Raza, Bharti Kher, Subodh Gupta, Atul Dodiya, and Anju Dodiya.