10 more in the crore club

After rising prices, it's consistency that's the big news in the world of art auctions. On the last night of January 2007, gallerists and collectors had reason once more to smile, as 10 works of art crossed the crore benchmark.

Though the figure is now breached with regularity at almost every auction, it is the first time that as many as 10 canvases made it to the list at a single auction.

Osian's Mumbai auction of masterpieces made Rs 39.8 crore at the end of the evening, and established new highs for a number of artists from A R Chugtai to Satish Gujral and Bharti Kher. Here's one arena where there have been no downturns.

Based on the 139 lots, the average price per lot was a high Rs 44.62 lakh. All prices include hammer price plus buyers' premium.