6th June, 2007
Art gains with online auctions
Kali one of Tyeb Mehta's masterpieces is on sale at the summer Saffron Art online auction. The auction house pegs the painting's worth between Rs 3.5 - 4.5 crore.
In an auction of 130 works, some are by prominent artists like MF Hussain, SH Raza and Jehangir Sabavala.
Over 500 bidders sitting at computer terminals across the world are expected to bid for these paintings over a two-day period. Much unlike a traditional auction.
Saffron Art says that in the past five years, at every auction of their's, they see a 15 - 20 per cent increase in the number of bidders. A sea change from when art was viewed as elitist is now fed by an investment boom.
"If in any market we see this sort of unprecedented momentum, there will be people who will view it purely as an investment," said Minal Vazirani, Partner, Saffron Art.
"But unlike the Chinese art, Indian art is bought primarily by Indians. So inherently, the cultural connections' established and then it ceases to be just an investment," added Vazirani.
Serves anonymity
Saffron's just one of a number of galleries that are into online auctions. Events that experts say that now serve a key purpose, anonymity.
Collectors and investors, given the recent I-T raids, would rather stay invisible. Besides, an online auction opens up the sale to a wider audience.
"There are lots of people who live abroad and buy our art and online auctions are the only way they can do this," said Ashish Balram Nagpal, art dealer.
"It is an experiential decision, however having said that there have been buys without actual viewing because you will have buyers who are very knowledgeable and can look at the image and decide what they want to buy," said Vazirani.
Whatever the merits or drawbacks of online auctions, increasingly its the way auction houses are going. To not just bring in the younger tech savvy art loving investor but also to use a medium that could well serve galleries to promote newer emerging artists.
- By Supriya Menon
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