Saffronart’s highly anticipated Spring Live Auction closed, amidst competitive bidding in the packed sale room, as well as over the phone and online. It followed the Spring Online Auction (3 - 4 March 2020) and both auctions were White Glove sales, with 100% of lots sold and most lots surpassing their estimates. The two auctions raised a total of INR 53.45 crores (USD 7.65 million) for the Directorate of Enforcement, Government of India, crossing its pre-auction estimate of INR 41 crores.

The auctions mark the first time that a professional auction house was appointed by the Directorate of Enforcement to conduct an auction of seized assets in India. This appointment comes a year after a successful auction of seized paintings conducted by Saffronart on behalf of the Income Tax Department in March 2019.

SPRING LIVE AUCTION (5 March 2020)
The live auction was led by Amrita Sher-Gil’s rare 1935 painting Boys with Lemons (Lot 9), which was auctioned for the first time, and sold for INR 15.7 crores (USD 2.24 million). M F Husain’s Battle of Ganga and Jamuna: Mahabharata 12, 1972 (Lot 5) sold for INR 13.44 crores (USD 1.92 million), achieving a world record for the artist.

V S Gaitonde’s tranquil 1972 painting (Lot 11; sold for INR 9.52 crores); Manjit Bawa’s Untitled, 1992 (Lot 4; sold for INR 6.16 crores); and Raja Ravi Varma’s enigmatic portrait (Lot 7; sold for INR 2.8 crores) were among the top five artworks. B Vithal’s untitled bronze sculpture (Lot 13) sold for INR 19 lakhs (USD 27,200), making it the highest value achieved for a sculpture by the artist.

Among the 25 luxury collectibles, the important Girard-Perregaux ‘Opera One’ Triple Bridge Tourbillon Wristwatch (Lot 32) sold for INR 95.2 lakhs (USD 136,000) – more than 30 times its estimate – a first for a watch in a public auction. A rare Audemars Piguet ‘Jules Audemars Grand Complication’ Automatique Wristwatch (Lot 17) sold for more than four times its estimate at INR 78.4 lakhs (USD 112,000).

A dazzling 18K yellow gold and diamond evening bag by Van Cleef and Arpels (Lot 21) sold for four times its estimate at INR 20.16 lakhs (USD 28,800). An Hermès Kelly Blue Atoll bag (Lot 30) tripled its higher estimate to sell for INR 17.9 lakhs, and two Hermès Togo leather bags – a Gris Etain Birkin (Lot 24) and an orange coloured Kelly (Lot 28) – sold for more than five times their estimates at INR 13.44 lakhs and INR 16.8 lakhs respectively.

The elegant Rolls-Royce Ghost (Lot 40) witnessed a high demand, selling for twice its estimate at INR 1.68 crores (USD 240,000).