Christie's was hoping to consolidate its foothold in the Indian art market yesterday with only its second sale in the country, showcasing a range of work by homegrown modern artists.
The London-based auction house was offering 80 lots at Mumbai's luxury Taj Mahal Palace hotel, all by Indian artists, following its first sale at the same venue last year that raised US$16.3 million.
Works by modernists M.F. Husain, Tyeb Mehta and Vasudeo S. Gaitonde were among those going under the hammer later yesterday, with the oldest piece being a pocket notebook of author Rabindranath Tagore, dated 1889 to 1904.
"The reason we have come here is we have seen very active bidding out of India," said Amin Jaffer, international director of Asian art. "We've seen an expansion in the range of interest."
India's art market lags behind that of China, where the first Christie's auction last year raised US$25 million, and which was pouring money into new museums to improve its already developed art scene. Christie's said education and exposure were a key aim of its sales in India, where the art scene has also suffered from cumbersome regulations and import duties.
"Many of the pieces are of museum quality," Jaffer said this week. "It's a rare opportunity."