29th June, 2006

NEW YORK: Saffronart closed yet another record sale June 19 evening, featuring rare and significant works of Indian modern and contemporary artists as its Summer Auction registered a total sale value of approximately $9.7 m.

Hosted on a new, innovative and highly interactive platform, the Summer Online Auction featured the work of globally sought painters, sculptors and installation artists, including S H Raza, Subodh Gupta, Jagdish Swaminathan and Rashid Rana.

World auction records were set for 8 artists, including Subodh Gupta, Hema Upadhyay, Badri Narayan, K M Adimoolam, Justin Ponmany, Chitra Ganesh, Bose Krishnamachari and Anita Dube. On the first day of the auction itself several lots crossed their higher estimates, including works by Subodh Gupta, Hema Upadhyay, T V Santhosh and Justin Ponmany, setting the pace for the exciting bidding activity that continued till the last minutes of the sale.

At this auction, close to 600 registered bidders from all over the world competed against each other for the works of some of India's most prominent artists. The top five lots of this Saffronart auction were Subodh Gupta's Untitled, selling for Rs 5.7 crores ($1.43 m), the highest price achieved by the artist at auction; S.H. Raza's Germination, selling for Rs. 4.2 crores ($1.05 m); Rashid Rana's Red Carpet - 2, selling for Rs. 2 crores ($500,250); J. Swaminathan's Untitled, selling for Rs. 1.84 crores ($ 460,000); and F.N. Souza's Untitled, selling for Rs. 1.63 crores ($408,250).

Dinesh Vazirani, Co-founder and Director of Saffronart, says, "While the results of this sale were stellar across the board, the fact that three of the top five lots were by modern Indian artists demonstrates a heartening resurgence in demand for premium modern works.

This sale also marked the successful launch of our new auction technology, which is the first of its kind globally, and makes the bidder's online experience as convenient as possible." Saffronart's new auction platform includes several technology enabled features that are pioneering industry firsts.

Apart from its improved design and intuitive user interface, this secure platform ensures that every user's bidding process is personalized and effortless. Online art auctions, pioneered by Saffronart, have transformed the landscape of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art, making it accessible to participants from around the world and opening it to a wide spectrum of international art lovers.

Established by Dinesh and Minal Vazirani, Saffronart has set global benchmarks for online art auctions. The company's innovative business model has prompted the Harvard Business School to write and teach a case study on Saffronart.

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