Mumbai, 8 June 2023: Saffronart returns with its annual Summer Online Auction on 28 – 29 June 2023
and features 102 works by leading modern and contemporary South Asian artists as well as indigenous
art, many of which hail from reputed collections in India and internationally.
Leading the 24-hour online auction is Bulls, 2005 – 2007 (Lot 49, estimate: INR 28,70,00,000 –
36,90,00,000; USD 3,500,000 – 4,500,000) by Tyeb Mehta. No conversation about Mehta’s career as an
artist is complete without this final work, which was produced during the last few years of his life. The
monumentality in size and scale of the diptych embodies the development of the pivotal iconography of
the bull, a subject that defines his oeuvre. Another highlight lot is Untitled (Two Figures), a painting by
Ram Kumar from 1960 (Lot 30, estimate: INR 2,46,00,000 – 4,10,00,000; USD 300,000 – 500,000). This
work marks what would soon be recognised as the end of the modernist’s early figurative phase and his
foray into abstraction, a style that would later come to define his body of art.
Dinesh Vazirani, Saffronart CEO and Co-Founder said, “We are excited to present significant works by
some of the best modern and contemporary South Asian artists at our Summer Online Auction. Among our
leading lots is Bulls (2005 – 2007) by Tyeb Mehta, which features on the cover of our catalogue. The bull
as a subject has dominated Mehta’s illustrious career, symbolising struggle, powerlessness, strength, and
dignity. Monumental in scale, this diptych is a culmination of the artist’s lifetime quest to articulate the
pain and struggle of day-to-day existence through the iconography of the bull. With fragmented planes
and twin silhouettes of bulls tumbling downwards, the work is also an apogee of Mehta’s endeavour
towards pure minimalism. Another featured lot in this auction is Untitled (Two Friends), a 1960 painting
by Ram Kumar. Among the last of his works to feature figurative forms, this lot marks the artist’s foray
into abstraction, which he would go on to perfect over the rest of his career. These present lots thus
represent significant milestones in these artists’ respective careers and are a great opportunity for anyone
looking to own a masterpiece.”
Other significant modern works that feature in the sale include Bindu, 1990 (Lot 39, estimate: INR
1,64,00,000 – 2,46,00,000; USD 200,000 – 300,000) and (Untitled) Red Road, 1960 (Lot 9, estimate: INR
35,00,000 – 45,00,000; USD 42,685 – 54,880) by S H Raza; Untitled, 1962, an ink on paper work by V S
Gaitonde (Lot 12, estimate: INR 65,60,000 – 98,40,000; USD 80,000 – 120,000); Untitled (Insect), 1955,
an unusual oil and graphite work by F N Souza (Lot 46, estimate: INR 8,20,000 – 12,30,000; USD 10,000
– 15,000); an early gouache and a tempera by Ganesh Pyne, titled Two Friends, 1963, (Lot 28, estimate:
INR 4,92,000 – 6,56,000; USD 6,000 – 8,000) and Sleep, 2005, (Lot 73, estimate: INR 1,50,00,000 –
2,00,00,000; USD 182,930 – 243,905), respectively; Untitled, a 1989 work by M F Husain inspired by
Mother Teresa (Lot 56, estimate: INR 1,00,00,000 – 1,50,00,000; USD 121,955 – 182,930); Annapurna
Feeding Lord Shiva, an early Bengal School oil (Lot 4, estimate: INR 5,74,000 – 7,38,000; USD 7,000 –
9,000); Untitled (Colour Geometry of Space Series), circa 1960s, by Jagdish Swaminathan (Lot 33,
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estimate: INR 32,80,000 – 49,20,000; USD 40,000 – 60,000); Untitled (Lot 71, estimate: INR 48,00,000 –
58,00,000; USD 58,540 – 70,735) by Satish Gujral, and more.
The auction also includes a strong collection of works by contemporary artists, such as I Beg Your Pardon:
The Scorpion Act II – An Actor Meditating on a Character of an Imaginary Play (Cuckoonebulopolis),
2002, (Lot 88, estimate: INR 20,00,000 – 30,00,000; USD 24,395 – 36,590) by Surendran Nair; and a
dynamic installation by Rana Begum titled No 494, 2014 (Lot 96, estimate: INR 28,00,000 – 32,00,000;
USD 34,150 – 39,025); and five works by leading Gond artist Jangarh Singh Shyam, including Raksa, Hiran
(Raksa, Deer), 1995 (Lot 102, estimate: INR 6,00,000 – 8,00,000; USD 7,320 – 9,760)
The Summer Online Auction 2023 will take place on saffronart.com and is preceded by viewings (by prior
appointment) in London, Mumbai, and New Delhi. All lots can be viewed online on saffronart.com.
AUCTION DATES
Summer Online Auction | 28 – 29 June 2023 on saffronart.com
PREVIEWS AND VIEWINGS
LONDON
Preview
Wednesday, 21 June 2023
6pm – 8pm
Viewings
14 June – 28 June 2023
11am – 6pm, Monday to Friday
Saturday, Sunday
(by appointment only)
Venue
Saffronart
73 New Bond Street
1st Floor
London, W1S 1RS
MUMBAI
Viewings
5 June – 28 June 2023
11am – 7pm, Monday to Saturday
Sunday (by appointment only)
Venue
Industry Manor, Ground Floor
Appasaheb Marathe Marg
Prabhadevi
Mumbai 400025
