Winner's bursary

ART AUCTION

Prices went stratospheric at Osian's recent auction, as the event attracted big bucks from within the country too.

When the Amrita Sher-gil rapidly escalated to Rs 5 crore, then inched up to Rs 5.5 crore before the hammer came down on a Rs 6 crore bid, the hall where Osian's "masterpieces" auction was being conducted broke into spontaneous applause.

But then, the significant gathering of art lovers and collectors at the Imperial that evening found plenty of reason to clap: bids were going for record prices, prices were searing across even the higher estimates, and the "crore" benchmark was passed so many times as to have become commonplace.

The Osian's auction of 98 works (three were withdrawn) saw 89 works sold with an average lot price of Rs 46.87 lakh "" the highest ever in the country (see chart).

And among a gathering of collectors, dealers and young buyers, it was heartening to note that of the 240 registered bidders at the auction, only two were foreign, clearly indicating that the NRI is no longer holding the purse-strings of the contemporary art market in India.

In fact, there was some disappointment that the Sher-gil didn't fetch a higher price (Rs 6.9 crore after the buyer's premium). "Considering that 100-150 Tyeb Mehtas have come into the market in the last 15 years, and only two Amrita Sher-gils in the same period, it's clear that the chances of laying one's hands on her work is virtually nil," said one collector.

Neville Tuli, founder-chairman of Osian's agreed: "If the international world were allowed to bid for it, it would at least double in value."

What's significant is that Sher-gil painted perhaps only 200-odd works in her lifetime, most of which are either the property of the National Gallery of Modern Art, or with the family.

In fact, says Tuli, the reason why the Tagores sold at prices "equivalent to a Jangannath Panda" was because of the ano-maly of a national art treasure not being allowed to leave the country. But this auction with its high prices, says Tuli, "will be a major catalyst in opening up the antiquity market".

What was certainly interesting was the way a number of bids came over phones, with representatives raising their paddles clearly on instructions from bidders who were not present at the auction "" but there was a high presence of bidders from Mumbai and Delhi.

"Indians are now putting their financial power behind their heritage," said Tuli, who says the auction process in India "has reached a level of maturity".

Overall, the total value of the 89 works commanded a hammer price (including buyer's premium) of Rs 41.72 crore. Post VAT and service tax, the value was Rs 46.62 crore.

Fraud or not?

The auction wasn't without its share of controversy, with painter Sanjay Bhattacharya alleging that Lot 63, a work by Bikash Bhatacharjee, was a fake.

At estimates of Rs 16-20 lakh, it created quite a stir, especially since the allegation was made publicly. Though Neville Tuli had the lot withdrawn from the sale, it left a bitter aftertaste in probably one of the country's most successful auctions.

Till going to press, Bhattacharya was withholding his comments: "I'm waiting for the last bit of proof to come to me from Kolkata," was all he said. Neither was Tuli forthcoming beyond saying: "There's no way we'd sell a work about which we had any doubt."

In the last years, the Bengal school has seen a fall in sales because of the number of fakes in the market. But that's not the only reason. Art collector Nitin Bhayana says the Bengal school has lost out to artists like V S Gaitonde because "minimal art is currently fashionable".

Average prices at Osian's auctions

Prices of Indian art have been rising swiftly, and Neville Tuli says that these prices are for similar "masterpieces" across the board, though the recent sale did have what previous auctions didn't "" an Amrita Sher-gil and a Raja Ravi Varma. Here's a sampler of how much average prices of lots have risen in the last five years.