The Indian space

Everyone has their eyes on Christie this week. After fantastic results for sales of South Asian art in London and New York (by fantastic I mean $1,859,750 for Raza’s Village en fête) Christies has ventured into the Indian market. The inaugural sale of modern and contemporary art includes six of the nine National Treasure artists. To learn more about the auction, I met Christies head of sales and specialist, Sonal Singh for a tête en tête...

Why have an auction now, why not during the 2006-2007 market boom?
This sale will connect one of the most dynamic growth markets with Christie’s activities globally and it was important to find the right moment to do this step. In 2006 Christie’s started to hold sales in the West Asia and I believe the experience gained from this first geographical expansion will act as a good guideline here.

What’s the ratio of contemporary art to modern art in the sale?
We are very proud to be offering works by six of the nine National Treasure artists, led by the iconic work painter by Amrita Sher-Gil in 1932. Further we are offering the well-known Gandhy collection, which has been established by Kekoo and Khorshed Gandhy, Mumbai-based gallerists and among the most significant figures in the development of India’s modern art scene.

Artists represented from their collection include VS Gaitonde, Ram Kumar, SH Raza, Tyeb Mehta, MF Husain and Jamini Roy.

Will Christie do an evening sale in Mumbai?
We noticed that it makes sense to offer modern and contemporary art in one sale. It is a normal progression and collectors do like to browse through one catalogue which retraces a longer period of art development.

When is your next auction?
We have not set a fixed date yet but the main intention is to hold one sale per year in India.

How much do you think the Amrita Sher-Gill will fetch?
It is estimated between Rs3,00,00,000 and 4,00,00,000 and an estimate is based on the current market value for an artists, the condition, rarity and provenance of the work.

Do you have anything in the auction for younger collectors?
Estimates are starting at Rs100,000 and there are works by the established artists at different price levels and what is very important to know for any art enthusiast — we will hold pre-sale exhibitions open to the public in New Delhi and Mumbai. Anybody can come, look at the art, meet the specialists and discuss the current art market or obtain more information on a particular artist’s career.

Who is the auctioneer for this sale?
The auction will be taken by Jussi Pylkkanen, President of Christie’s Europe, Middle East, Russia and India as well as Hugo Weihe, International Director of Asian Art.

Do you buy at auctions?
At Christie’s staff is only allowed to leave written bids for sale categories not connected with.

Since my sincere passion is Indian art I cannot bid at Christie’s.

Why buy at an auction and pay a premium instead of buying at a gallery or through a dealer?
First of all Christie’s gives a five-year warranty. Prices fetched at auction do not need necessarily be the highest in the market and thirdly you have the expertise of a team of specialists behind each object that we offer.

Paintings by National Treasure artists are not permitted to leave the country, how do you think this affects bidding?
The sale will allow us access to a considerable piece of the market that, due to export restrictions, we cannot reach without a domestic auction. The six National Art Treasures offered on December 19 are part of the export restrictions but are also elevating our sale of over 80 lots.