Modern & Contemporary South Asian art auction at Sotheby’s New York

Sotheby’s week of Asian Art sales just concluded with Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art that fetched $2,262,000 ($2.6/3.8 million). This brings the combined total for the weeks three sales to $31,447,375.

The auction was led by the cover lot Eglise by SH Raza. The painting comes from an important period in the artist’s work and met expectations when it sold for $362,500 (est. $300/500,000). This was one of a number of strong prices for modern paintings with works by Jehangir Sabavala, Jagdish Swaminathan, and Husain all selling well.

A further highlight was Untitled (Himalayan Beauty) by Raja Ravi Varma which had passed though the family collection of the artist’s German printing technician. The magnificent painting sold well above the estimate for $266,500 (est. $100/150,000). The head of the Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art sale, Priyanka Mathew, stated: “Our cover lot by SH Raza met expectations and paintings with strong provenance performed well. Untitled (Himalayan Beauty) by Raja Ravi Varma comfortably exceeded the high estimate to sell for $266,500.

Jehangir Sabavala’s ‘The Cobweb Cloud’ fetched $266,500. Of the MF Husain works that found buyers, many exceeded the high estimate, particularly works that have not appeared on the market recently. Overall, our total of $2.3 million was a solid result in a market that remains price sensitive.”

The head of the Indian Art Department at Sotheby’s New York, Anu Ghosh-Mazumdar, added, “We were pleased with the performance of the Indian Miniatures that included a wide range of works from a variety of Rajput and Pahari schools. Here too, works with distinguished provenance and in good condition were actively sought after by collectors from around the world. The highlight of this part of the sale was Krishna and the Cow from the Sirmur School circa 1810 which went for $56,250 to an anonymous buyer after it was pursued by a number of bidders.”