Bronze figure of Shiva as the Lord of Music, Chola Period,
$724,300.
:New $724,300 High for Chola Bronze at Indian and Southeast
Asian Art Auction
- Christie's conducted a sale of Indian and Southeast Asian Art
including Twentieth Century Indian Paintings on September 17. The
sale totaled $4,405,917. There were 210 lots offered and 134 of
those sold. All prices cited include the buyer's premium.
Hugo Weihe, international head of the Indian and Southeast Asian
Art department said, "This sale was the second strongest sale in
the field of Indian and Southeast Asian Art at Christie's ever
and achieved the highest average lot value. Indian art performed
extremely well, led by the world auction record for a Chola
bronze obtained for the cover lot, Shiva as the Lord of Music.
"Early sculpture from Sri Lanka, Gandhara and Nepal was also
eagerly sought after with new collectors entering the market at a
high level. Equally gratifying was the highly successful
afternoon session devoted to Twentieth Century Indian paintings.
Several world auction records were set, notably for Raja Ravi
Varma, V.S. Gaitonde, Bhupen Khakhar, Francis Newton Souza and
Akbar Padamsee and strong pieces were achieved by the early works
of Maqbool Fida Husain."
European buyers won the top four lots. A bronze figure of Shiva
as the Lord of Music, Vinadhara, South India, Chola period, went
far beyond its presale estimate of $400/600,000 to reach
$724,300. This was a world auction record for a Chola bronze.
Eleventh Century gilt bronze figure of Amoghapasa, $433,100.
A gilt bronze figure of Amoghapasa, Nepal, circa Eleventh
Century, sold for $433,100 on an estimate of $150/200,000. Failing
to meet its low estimate, but selling none the less was a marble
figure of Buddha from Sri Lanka, Anuaradhapura period,
Sixth/Seventh Century. It sold for $186,700 on an estimate of
$200/300,000. A bronze figure of Parvati, South India, Vijayanagar
period, Fourteenth Century, brought $164,300 ($150/200,000).
An American buyer spent $119,500 for a Raja Ravi Varma
(1848-1906), "Court Scene," oil on canvas ($100/150,000). This
was a world auction record for the artist. Later in the sale the
record was tied with the artist's "Nala and Damayanti," which
also sold to an American buyer.
A green schist figure of Buddha, Gandhara, Third/Fourth Century,
sold for $119,500 ($100/150,000), also to an American. An Asian
buyer purchased an acrylic on canvas triptych entitled
"Mahi-shasura," by Tyeb Mehta (born 1925). It brought $119,500
($80/90,000). "Bulls," an oil on canvas by Maqbool Fida Husain
(born 1915) sold for $107,550, far more than its $18/24,000
presale estimate.
Another world auction record was set when Vasuedo S. Gaitonde's
(1924-2001), untitled oil on canvas sold for $101,575
($65/75,000) to a private buyer in the UK.
