Category: Auction House

Dubai-based auction platform will now provide loan against blue-chip Indian art work

Published on September 16, 2018 (moneycontrol.com), by Tasmayee Laha Roy

Artiana will consider individual artworks and collections of blue chip Indian fine art as collateral. Artworks must be freely marketable and produced by prominent artists with an existing track record in the secondary market.

All the exquisite Indian art work that adorns your walls can now get you a loan.

Dubai-based online art auction platform, Artiana has started a one-of-its-kind service -Artiana Fine Art Finance. Leveraging upon the strength of the auction house platform, Artiana is all set to provide financing solutions that cater to both buyers in auctions as well as others who can borrow against blue-chip Indian artworks.

While there are platforms like Levart, Sotheby’s Financial Services and others that provide loan against artwork what is special about Artiana is their services are dedicated towards blue-chip Indian artwork.

Clients having artwork that qualifies as collateral for this facility and can arrange the physical delivery of these pieces to Artiana’s storage facility in Dubai, can use this service. Interestingly, the equity released against the artwork can be used for any purpose and there are no restrictions on the deployment of these funds.

What exactly does Artiana Fine Art Service do? They provide finance solutions to consignors and buyers at our auctions and arrange advances secured against Indian fine art at competitive interest rates. “Our bespoke finance solutions provide financing for fresh acquisitions or existing collections,” said Lavesh Jagasia, Founder of Artiana.

Art work has been an investment option for a lot of people for years now but unlike other commodities like gold or real estate art is not easy to sell. At least not as quickly as other investment options. This is the gap Artiana wants to bridge.

“There are times that works are sold in auctions for attractive prices, and end buyers are unable to take advantage of these situations as they would have not planned such purchases. With other collectors already holding significant portions of their net-worth in Indian art, and unable to sell it quickly or leverage it when required limiting their investments in this sphere due to the illiquid nature of this asset class,” Jagasia said.

With bespoke finance solutions for blue-chip Indian art, Artiana wants to address these in the art market.

As for the amount of finance provided, while there is no upper limit the minimum advance size is $50,000 which could be against one work or a collection of works.

But what Loan-To-Value (LTV) does Artiana Fine Art Finance offer against the artworks? “We will typically advance up to 80 percent of the lower estimate value of artworks purchased at our auctions or up to 60 percent of the appraised value of the proposed external art collateral,” Jagasia said.

Explaining why the company came up with financial solutions against blue-chip Indian artwork only, Jagasia said, “We currently focus on Indian art in our auctions, hence to be able to accurately estimate and guide our clients and financiers we prefer to stay within this domain. Secondly, there is no other such product/service available for Indian art making the facility a welcome addition to the Indian art sphere having a pent-up demand.”

As for the kind of artwork that can be used for availing the service, Artiana will consider individual artworks and collections of blue-chip Indian fine art as collateral. Artworks must be freely marketable and produced by prominent artists with an existing track record in the secondary market.

The artworks are evaluated by both Artiana and also independently inspected by a conservator.

For securing the transactions throughout the term that the artworks are held as collateral they will be insured at double of the advance amount, to cover the full value of the art asset. The insurance covers the items right from the time of collection, during storage until the final handover.

As for Artiana’s interest in the lending process, Artiana Fine Art Finance will charge an arrangement fee of 2 percent of the advance amounts arranged against external art assets, this fee is waived for finance arranged against purchases made in their auctions. Depending on the value, tenor and terms of the advance the charges are calculated at typically 15 percent per annum payable quarterly in advance for fixed maturity payments, and at a flat rate of 10 percent per annum for monthly installment payments.

 

55 Indian artworks, including MF Husain’s paintings, up for online auction this May

Published: May 4, 2018 (moneycontrol.com), by Tasmayee Laha Roy

Artiana, a Dubai-based online art auction platform, is putting up 55 Indian artworks on the block at their South Asian Art – Classical, Modern and Contemporary Online Auction between May 10 and May 14

This May, those who admire MF Husain and his works have something to look forward to. After selling his ‘The Last Supper’ at $ 1.1 million against a lower estimate of $700,000, Dubai-based online art auction platform Artiana is again putting up another 55 Indian artworks on the block at their South Asian Art – Classical, Modern and Contemporary Online Auction between May 10 and May 14.

The May auction will feature new-to-market works by MF Husain with ‘Trinity of Mother Teresa’ being the cover lot and another painted on the day of the India and Sri Lanka Cricket World Cup final match — two horses depicting the two teams as stallions of the cricket world. The auction that would have 90% Indian artwork also includes ‘Thou Sayest So’ by Krishen Khanna, ‘Shanti Bindu’ by SH Raza and an impressive bronze sculpture of Vishnu among other rare works by Bhupen Khakhar, Ram Kumar and SH Raza.

MF Husain – Trinity of Mother Teresa – 1989
MF Husain – Untitled (2 Horses) – 2011

While ‘Trinity of Mother Teresa’ from 1989, a suitable vintage Husain artwork, has a lower estimate of $350,000, Krishen Khanna’s work has one of $100,000. The auction has a novelty factor too. Artiana has got rid of the buyer’s premium, facilitating bidders to invest more in the bid. “By getting rid of the buyer’s premium, we make sure that a bidder invests his entire budget on the artifact and not in paying service charges,” said Lavesh Jagasia, founder at Artiana, UAE’s first home-grown auction house for art and luxury collectibles.

Artiana’s last sale in October 2017 clocked sales over $3 million, with 96% being sold with 128% total sale value against the lower estimate. This year, the numbers are expected to go higher.

According to Jagasia, his audience is divided into three halves — Indian bidders, bidders from UAE and those from the rest of the world.

After completing five successful auctions, Artiana’s future auctions are planned for art from the Middle East which will comprise works by Emirati artists including other surrounding countries and diaspora artists from this region, a sale of rugs and carpets, which will offer a range of hand-woven Oriental rugs and carpets, including textiles such as European paisley and Indian jamawar shawls.

ARTIANA’s South Asian Art Online Sale is Coming Up!

Published: May 8, 2018 (Widewalls), by Angie Kordic

For four days this May, between the 10th and the 14th to be precise, there will be yet another splendid auction of South Asian Art hosted by the ARTIANA auction house from Dubai. A total of 60 lots will be featured in this online sale, including classical, modern and contemporary paintings and sculptures from the Indian subcontinent.

Among the highlights, we have an impressive bronze figure of Vishnu, a collection of 20 Company Paintings, a seminal 1989 painting by M.F. Husain, Trinity of Mother Teresa and Krishen Khanna’s marvelous Thou Sayest So from 1980.

Let us also not forget the leading figures of South Asian contemporary art, such as S.H. Raza, Bhupen Khakhar, F.N. Souza, Jamil Naqsh, Jogen Chowdhury… And who better to discuss this exciting sale than Lavesh Jagasia, ARTIANA’s founder and an expert on South Asian art with as many as three decades of experience in the field.

With Mr. Jagasia, we also discuss the introduction of VAT in the United Arab Emirates, its effect on the art market, the current state of affairs in that aspect, and of course, ARTIANA’s future plans. Have a read below!

How did ARTIANA’s last auction do and what are the highlights of the upcoming ‘South Asian Art’ sale?

Our last auction was very successful with a sell-through rate of 96% and total sales at 128% of the lower estimate value. Our cover lot, the seminal work by M.F. Husain based on ‘The Last Supper’ was sold for USD 1.1 Million against the pre-sale estimate of USD 700,000. This currently remains the most expensive painting sold on our platform, and we are very pleased with the confidence reposed in us by our buyers that are reflective of our results.

Being the only auction house in the Middle East that has a regular calendar of ‘South Asian Art’ auctions, what trends have you observed with collectors of this genre of art?

Yes, that is absolutely correct, in fact, we are the UAE’s first home-grown auction house for art and luxury collectibles and the only auction house in the region conducting auctions of South Asian art. The buyer base for this genre of art is the South Asian diaspora in the region and other overseas countries, besides collectors from India. There is a definite growing interest amongst the community to collect works of established artists, buying art for them is a tangible experience which we offer in our Dubai based viewing gallery. Quality works by Modernists with impeccable provenance generates the maximum interest, with the aesthetically appealing subjects being the most preferred, as these collectors want to live with the works rather than store them as pure investments.

Given the recent implementation of VAT in the UAE, how will this affect your auctions and the art market in general?

VAT in the UAE has been set at a very low rate of 5% for all goods and services. As an auction house dealing in pre-owned art and collectibles we are obliged to charge the VAT only on our commission, which is fixed at 20% of the Winning Bid, hence the net impact to the buyer’s within UAE will be negligible at just 1% of the total purchase price, and overseas buyers will not be charged any VAT. We feel that the overall art market will also be able to absorb the impact of the 5% VAT between the galleries and buyers without affecting sales.

ARTIANA was featured in the latest South Asian Art Market report as one of the top auction houses amongst other older auction houses, how have you managed to achieve this in a short span of time?

Yes, we managed to garner close to 5% market share of South Asian art which merited our inclusion in the list of top auction houses focusing on this genre of art. Even though ARTIANA exists publicly in its current structure for the last three years, actually it is a convergence of my three decades of engagement and experience in the South Asian art sphere, which brought together my expert knowledge, relationships, network and credibility to form this successful platform. Another aspect that may have acted as a catalyst is our disruptive ‘No Buyer’s Premium’ policy, which results in savings ranging from 15%-40% for our buyers as compared to the final payable amounts over and above the ‘Winning Bid’ at other auction houses.

According to recent art trade reports, lack of transparency is the main stumbling block holding the online art market thus fewer people purchase art online, how will ARTIANA address this?

Even though we use an omnichannel marketing strategy, and maintain a brick and mortar gallery for hosting our auction previews, we conduct all our auctions online and believe that this is the way forward for transacting art, hence our commitment towards furthering our digital strategy is always foremost in our business objectives. The key requirement to make this successful is gaining the confidence of new buyers that land on our website and retention of buyers that have transacted on our platform. The majority of these buyers use our past auction results for reference, and we permanently archive these results including the unsold lots for their information to maintain transparency on the pricing and the result of every lot offered at our sales. Besides this, the prospective buyers are provided with provenance for every work after an in-depth investigation into its authenticity and ownership, and a comprehensive Artiana guarantee that covers all items sold on our platform for a period of six months from the auction closing date. These aspects add to our reliability and ensure the buyers that they are transacting with a premier dependable auction house.

Please share with us ARTIANA’s journey till now and what can we look forward to in terms of ARTIANA’s future plans and sales?

ARTIANA has launched three years ago and conducted its first auction in March 2016, maintaining a calendar of two South Asian Art auctions in a year. After our first year, we introduced classical art in our catalogues that featured Gandharan and Indian sculptures and Indian miniature and company paintings sourced from outside India and vetted by our leading experts, these items have found a lot of interest with collectors, especially those based outside India as these works are non-exportable from within India. In terms of overall sales, we grew three-fold between our first auction and our last concluded sale and have received positive feedback from our clients for our efforts in combining a curated catalogue with multiple entry levels and low impact costs. We plan to continue building similar catalogues for our upcoming sales every March and October which have become permanent fixtures in the South Asian art calendar. This year we are planning to launch sales of Rugs & Carpets, Prints & Multiples followed by Middle Eastern art in the near future.

(Originally published in Widewalls)

Examining Buyer’s Premium at Auctions with ARTIANA’s Lavesh Jagasia

Published: October 2017 – widewalls.ch 

Among the words found in the vocabulary of the art market, we find “Buyer’s Premium”. In auctions, this is a percentage additional charge on the hammer price of a certain lot that must be paid by the buyer. All major auction houses implement it, usually between 10% and 30%, and it is charged as a remuneration in addition to, or instead of, seller’s commission. Buyer’s premium was there since the Roman ages, in particular during the reign of Augustus, and was introduced by Christie’s and Sotheby’s in 1975; and while Christie’s still implements it, Sotheby’s eliminated it in August 2017, following the steps of an auction house that had had it for years before that – ARTIANA.

This online platform for selling art was founded by Lavesh Jagasia, an expert on South Asian art with three decades of experience in the field and the founder of an art publishing firm The Serigraph Studio, which has collaborated with most of the leading South Asian artists. ARTIANA’s slogan was “What You Bid Is What You Pay”from the get-go, and naturally, it also applies to their upcoming South Asian Art Sale, taking place between October 26th and 30th. The No Buyer’s Premium policy was introduced in line with their commitment to keep the transactional costs for both buyers and sellers at a minimum – which could be part of the reason the idea might become widespread.

Of this, and more, we talked to Mr. Jagasia once again, so be sure to scroll down and have a read.

Manjit Bawa – Lot 51 – Untitled (Goat)
Krishen Khanna – Lot 41 – Emmaus

ARTIANA’s No Buyer’s Premium Policy

Widewalls: ARTIANA is known for the No Buyer’s Premium policy. What were the circumstances that brought you to this decision?

Lavesh Jagasia: ARTIANA was conceived as a hybrid auction house that would redefine and streamline the auction transaction process, and reduce the historically high costs associated with it, whilst still offering the important elements of the traditional auction house services such as expertise, viewings and printed catalogues desired by many art collectors.

I drew on my three decades of experience in the art sphere, both as a collector and an art entrepreneur to come with the most optimal offering without diluting any of the services expected from a premium auction house, simultaneously doing away with non-essential activities related to the actual sale.

A lot of buyers stay away from the art market due to the high costs of transacting art in the secondary art market, and there has been a decline in in-room bidding with buyers preferring to bid over the telephone or online, rendering the live bidding process, one of the main costs attached to the auction process as replaceable.

ARTIANA conducts the auction process online on its proprietary auction application software, while continuing to offer viewings at our own gallery, allowing us to pass on all the savings to our clients.

Convinced that the No Buyer’s Premium would grow the market and that this would be the new normal we pioneered this concept and coined our USP slogan ‘What You Bid Is What You Pay’.

Widewalls: What was the feedback of your buyers and sellers regarding the policy since you introduced it?

LJ: The buyers were extremely pleased with the No Buyer’s Premium policy resulting in our auctions being an immediate success. With the sellers, we had to explain that either way they are paying the entire commission both at the front-end and back-end just presented differently; in-fact this policy increased the possibility of attracting extra bids resulting in a better net realization for the seller.

Widewalls: It would seem that the idea is now being picked up by Sotheby’s and possibly by other auction houses in the future. How would you comment on these changes?

LJ: Yes, they have adopted the No Buyer’s Premium policy across all their online auctions. Traditional business models are regularly being challenged by disruptive business models and have to adapt accordingly. We are pleased to have spearheaded an important change in the way art will be transacted going forward.

Widewalls: If widely adopted, what would the sales without Buyer’s Premium bring to the art market in general? What will it mean for the artworks’ value?

LJ: The No Buyer’s Premium policy will widen the market by attracting new buyers, it would increase transaction activity and encourage investment in art. All this would result in an overall increase in the value of works of art that have secondary market demand.

Francis Newton Souza – Lot 23 – Head
Syed Haider Raza – Lot 12 – Earth

The Upcoming South Asian Art Sale

Widewalls: The South Asian Art auction is approaching. What would you point out as its highlights?

LJ: Our South Asian Art sale is led by a seminal work by one of India’s important modernists MF Hussain. The painting is based on The Last Supper and presents a rare opportunity for any collector to acquire a significant work of this artist. The work is the pivotal feature of The Lost Continent series. Painted in July 2005 in London, the series gives an insight into Hussain’s sense of humanity and moral values. It was sold for USD 2 million in 2005 and, at the time, bore the record of the highest sum ever paid for a work of modern art from India.

The catalogue comprises paintings by artists such as FN Souza, Rameshwar Broota, Manjit Bawa among others including a collection of Indian classical paintings.

The sale features 60 lots of classical, modern and contemporary paintings, and will open for bidding from October 26, 2017, at 6:00 pm UAE time and will close on October 30 between 6:30 – 9:00 pm. Prior to the auction, buyers can view the works in our gallery by prior appointment. Registration for the auction can be completed on our website or through our mobile app available on both Google Play for Android and the App Store for Apple devices.

All images courtesy Artiana.

Source: widewalls.ch

Online auction sans Buyer’s Premium

Published: October 20, 2017 (Gulf News)

by Jyoti Kalsi (special to Weekend Review)

Online auction house Artiana will conduct a sale of classical, modern and contemporary South Asian art from October 26 to 30. Highlights of the event include The Last Supper (left), a seminal work by M.F. Husain, which was sold for $2 million in 2005, establishing a record for the highest price paid for a modern work from India; and an Arabian-themed painting from Husain’s Ibn Zainab series done in the late 1970s.

The sale also features classical Indian miniature paintings and significant works by leading artists such as F.N. Souza, Manjit Bawa, S.H. Raza, B. Prabha, Sakti Burman, Jamil Naqsh and Rameshwar Broota. It includes a portrait of Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, painted by Souza in 1976.

Founded by art expert Lavesh Jagasia, Artiana has a unique auction model that offers traditional auction house services such as printed catalogues, pre-sale viewings, and expert advice, but does not charge a buyer’s premium. The online format, and Artiana’s proprietary auction application software, allows buyers from around the globe to place their bids at any time convenient to them. Bids can also be placed via a mobile app, available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

The paintings can be viewed at Artiana’s viewing gallery in Downtown Dubai, by prior appointment, from October 15 to 25. The auction will begin at 6pm on October 26, with final bids being accepted between 6.30pm to 9pm on October 30. For more details, registration, and the online catalogue, go to www.artiana.com

Jyoti Kalsi is an arts enthusiast based in Dubai.
For more information and registration, visit www.artiana.com
For viewing appointments, write to [email protected]

Source: Online auction sans buyer’s premium

‘South Asian Art Market is Hugely Undervalued’

ARTIANA Founder Lavesh Jagasia explains why South Asian art will weather the economic slowdown.

As the founder of UAE’s foremost home-grown auction house for art and luxury collectibles, Lavesh Jagasia knows his art – not just from the aesthetic point of view but also from a commercial perspective. As ARTIANA gears up to hold its next online auction on March 23-27, he takes us through the world of bidding and why the South Asian art market is recession-proof.

ARTIANA Founder, Lavesh Jagasia

What’s the USP of your next auction? 

Our USP as an auction house is “what you bid is what you pay”; buyers at our auction do not pay any Buyer’s Premium over and above the winning bid amount. Other auction houses usually charge 25-30 percent Buyer’s Premium on the final bid amount making the artworks more expensive. Our upcoming sale is about presenting Classical artworks along with Modern and Contemporary selection. This is a rare occasion when a sale of Classical South Asian art is taking place in the region and these will be presented with the expertise of world-class scholars such as JP Losty for the Indian Miniature Paintings and Renzo Freschi for the Indian and Gandharan sculptures.

For a buyer, what is the advantage of participating in an online art auction? 

Online art auctions give buyers the benefit of a seamless and convenient platform to bid from across the globe! They can view the works in our gallery and participate in our timed online auction as per their respective time zones. Online auctioning reduces the high costs associated with live in-room bidding of art and luxury collectibles. Buyers can also view all the details of the work and study the artworks through high-resolution images provided on our online auction platform as if looking at the artworks in person. There are many buyers who prefer to remain discreet and this medium allows them that flexibility. Besides, there are options for ‘Proxy Bid’ in which case, a bidder can put in their upper limit bid and our proprietary auction application will bid on their behalf till this limit is reached, relieving the bidder of keeping a constant watch on the bid increments.

MF Husain – ‘Islam’ – 1992 – acrylic on canvas – 78 x 139 in.

What tips would you give an art lover who is participating in an auction for the first time? How should he or she make smart choices?

  • Check the credibility of the auction house.
  • Make sure that they are selling genuine artworks by ascertaining their reputation and length of association with the sphere of art that they specialize in.
  • Since art and luxury collectibles have a historically high value, make sure that you are getting the best value for your money by acquiring artworks that you love.
  • Acquire a painting that you can live with for a long time, as art should not be acquired merely as an investment. It is an asset class that should be approached with a combination of passion and research.
  • As much as possible, go for the auction houses who have a ‘No Buyer’s Premium Policy’ as it would save you from paying an additional 25-30% of the hammer price.

Jamil Naqsh – ‘Arrival’ – 2015 – oil on canvas – 48 x 30 in.

Given the general economic slowdown, what is your assessment of the art market currently? 

Based on my experience over many years which have included both highs and lows, I would say that the South Asian art market is hugely undervalued. The economic slowdown may broadly affect the mood of the buyer temporarily but confidence is proved time and again by record prices achieved by top-end works in which rare and sought-after pieces see hectic bidding activity. This is proof that the market for quality works remains extremely strong in any economic scenario. Moreover, the Indian economy is growing at a very healthy pace and has remained unaffected by the economic slowdown in the Gulf and other emerging economies.  In this current auction, the majority of our artworks are by Indian artists.

SH Raza – ‘Emergence’ – 1988 – acrylic on canvas – 31.5 x 31.5 in.

Can you recommend some South Asian artists to watch out for? 

We always recommend acquiring established masters from South Asia. The established artists we recommend any serious collector to acquire would be from the ‘Progressive Artists Group’ such as M. F. Husain, S. H. Raza, F. N. Souza, Ram Kumar and other artists such as Sakti Burman, Jehangir Sabavala, Jogen Chowdhury and Jamil Naqsh.

Krishen Khanna – ‘Bandwallahs’ – 2003 – oil on canvas – 40 x 30 in.

What are your favorite pieces that will be going under the hammer in the auction? 

We have a seminal work of S. H. Raza titled ‘Emergence’; this work was painted in 1988 and has been published on the cover and inside of one of the artists’ most important books. There is a very large work of M F Husain titled ‘Islam’, this massive work is from his ‘Theorama’ series and is worthy of any museum acquisition.

Source: ‘South Asian Art Market Is Hugely Undervalued’: Lavesh Jagasia

South Asian art auction sans buyer’s premium

SH Raza – ‘Emergence’ – 1988 – acrylic on canvas – 31.5 x 31.5 in.

Published: March 17, 2017 (Gulf News)

By Jyoti Kalsi (Special to Weekend Review)

Artiana, the UAE’s only home-grown auction house will hold its third online auction of South Asian Art from March 23 to March 27. The lots on offer include classical Indian and Gandhara sculptures from the second and third centuries, early Indian miniature paintings and rare works by leading South Asian modern and contemporary painters and sculptors.

Highlights include breathtaking ancient sculptures of Buddha and Indian deities, S.H. Raza’s 1988 painting, ‘Emergence’, which appeared on the cover of Alain Bonfand’s book, Raza; and a large museum-quality work by M. F. Husain titled ‘Islam’, from his Theorama series. Estimated prices start at  $800 for some miniature paintings.

A unique feature of Artiana’s auctions is that it does not charge a buyer’s premium, which typically ranges from 25 to 30 percent of the purchase price. Thus, buyers have more leeway while bidding and sellers can get better prices.

The auction catalogue is available at www.artiana.com and those interested can also physically view the artworks at Artiana’s viewing gallery in Downtown Dubai.

The auction begins at 6pm on March 23 and final bids will be accepted between 6.30pm and 9pm on March 27. Buyers from around the world can place their bids whenever it is convenient for them during the auction. They can also bid on the move via Artiana’s state-of-the-art proprietary application software that can be downloaded from Google Play for Android devices and the Apple Store for iPhones and iPads. The software also allows buyers to place a ‘proxy bid’ stating the upper limit of their bid, and bids on their behalf until that limit is reached, freeing buyers from keeping a constant watch on the process.

Artiana was founded by Lavesh Jagasia, an art expert specializing in Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art, and founder of art investment consultancy, The Fine Art Advisory, and art publishing firm, The Serigraph Studio.

“This is the first time ever that a sale of classical South Asian art is taking place in the region, and we are delighted to have the guidance of world-class scholars such as J. P. Losty, an expert in Indian Miniature Paintings, and Renzo Freschi, who specializes in Indian and Gandharan sculptures,” Jagasia says.

Jyoti Kalsi is an arts enthusiast based in Dubai.
For more information and registration, visit www.artiana.com
For viewing appointments, write to [email protected]

Source: South Asian art sans buyer’s premium

ARTIANA – Highlights – Lot 21 – Classical, Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art – Online Auction – No Buyer’s Premium

Indian Miniature Painting – Maharao Ram Singh Killing a Buffalo – Kota, c.1830-40 – opaque pigments and gold on paper – 15.5 x 24.5 cm (painting)

Part of the upcoming online auction of South Asian Art are miniature paintings from the Indian subcontinent, showcasing different schools of classical paintings from 17th to 19th century. This one in particular uses opaque pigments and gold on paper, a medium unique in classical Indian miniature painting. 

Maharao Ram Singh of Kota (r. 1827-66) is one of the best represented of Rajput rulers with many aspects of his life both public and personal documented by his artists. He is represented in durbars with his court and with British officials, in the many festivals of the Hindu calendar, including Dussehra as here, the Asapura festival (Kreisel 1995, fig. 132), and the riotous spring festival of Holi (Topsfield 1980, pl. 7), as well as personal worship of the deities (Seyller 2015, no. 60) , and of course many scenes of personal interest such as riding an elephant on top of the chajja of a pavilion in 1853 (Ehnbom1985, no. 64), playing polo with his noblemen (Welch 1997, no 63), entering Delhi in 1842 (ibid., no. 65), and scenes of him enjoying himself with his women (Seyller 2015, no. 61). Here, he is celebrating the autumnal Dussehra festival, commemorating the slaying of the buffalo-headed demon Mahishasura by the Devi, by hunting and killing a buffalo in a ritual slaying. Other pictures suggest that this was not a solitary affair but was a communal ceremony undertaken with his nobles (Kreisel ed. 1995, fig. 133).

In our splendidly energetic painting, the Maharao is gorgeously apparelled in helmet and body armour, with room of course for jewels, over a lilac jama. He carries a small shield in his left hand which holds the reins, while an empty scabbard is by his side, the sword being used to slice at the neck of the buffalo, which is falling to the ground behind the horse. The horse is even more gorgeously caparisoned than the Maharao, with its tasselled mane, jewelled bridle and many chains with attached gold plates. Two attendants run beside on foot, one with a khanda sword and a chowrie, and the other with a sun-burst parasol. The latter may also be carrying an upright spear, unless it is attached to the horse in some way or held by an invisible attendant. The scene is set below a plain green hillside dotted with a few trees and with a walled garden near the summit of the hill.

The Maharao here appears relatively young, being without his full set of bushy sideburns that grew gradually over the course of his reign. He came to the throne at the age of 19 and one of his earliest datable portraits shows him about 25 (Bautze’s fig. 14 in Welch et al. 1997, p. 53), when his sideburns were already heavier than they are in our painting. His profile with its bulbous ending to the nose and protruding lips is instantly recognisable.

The horse rolls its eyes as the buffalo falls dying to the ground, its horns obtruding into the margin, but Ram Singh’s grave face is devoid of the pleasure of the hunt but rather intent on doing his ritual duty. A later and rather stiffer picture dated 1859 in the Mittal Museum in Hyderabad (Seyller ed. 2015, no. 63) shows the same ritual killing of the buffalo but with the Maharao using a spear rather than a sword, while a preliminary drawing for that painting is in the V&A Museum (Archer 1959, Kotah fig. 49).

Expert: J. P. Losty

Auction Catalogue-South Asian Art ‘Classical, Modern and Contemporary-March 23-27, 2017

ARTIANA – Highlights – Lot 10 – Classical, Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art – Online Auction – No Buyer’s Premium

Gandharan Sculpture – Buddha Head – 4th/5th century – North Pakistan – polychrome stucco – 23.5 x 13.5 x 16 cm. – Lot 10

Featured in the Classical, Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art online auction on March 23-27, 2017 are sculptures from as early as 4th century such as this Buddha Head which is the oldest in the collection. 

This Buddha’s head reflects the typical Gandhara style with a clear Hellenistic influence. The elongated earlobes only and the half-shut eyes show the Indian origin and taste.

The intensity of expression, the lengthened shape of eyes (that denote an oriental origin), the elongated earlobes, the circle (urna) in the middle of the forehead, the cranium protuberance (usnisa) are distinguishing characteristics of the Buddha. Furthermore, the sweet faraway look absorbed in deep meditation is typical of Buddhist art.

Face’s oval is perfect, eyebrows are gently arching, the nose is straight. The face’s soft simplicity contrasts and points out the hair, which is treated according to an incisive cutting. The fineness of features is emphasized by the polychrome stucco.

The beautiful aesthetic quality of this head is a fine example of Gandharan stucco sculpture.

Expert: Renzo Freschi

Auction Catalogue-South Asian Art ‘Classical, Modern and Contemporary’-March 23-27, 2017