Seven Chandigarh heritage items fetch Rs 1.16 crore at US auction

Seven heritage items from the city were auctioned for Rs 1.16 crore in the US on June 4. Giving details, Ajay Jagga, a member of the Heritage Items Protection Cell of Chandigarh Administration, said Wright, a US-based auctioneer, sold artefacts designed by Swiss architect Pierre Jeanneret, including a dining set, a set of four low stools, a set of eight dining chairs, two sets of eight chairs, a pair of cube stools and a pair of lounge chairs. A pair of lounge chairs fetched the highest bid of Rs 37.40 lakh in the auction. In a letter to Union Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar and Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Jagga sought protection of national heritage.

Urgent diplomatic intervention was required for protection of national heritage (Chandigarh heritage articles) going under the hammer in foreign countries, he stated. Jagga said the auction took place even as he had brought to the notice of the ministries about it in advance. “Complete details of the proposed auction, including the auction house, item descriptions and estimated values, had been specifically communicated to the authorities,” he said, and added that despite such advance intimation, all seven identified items were auctioned. The items, originally designed for and used in Chandigarh’s public institutions, fetched a total sale consideration of nearly Rs 1.16 crore. Jagga demanded that an inquiry should be conducted into the provenance and chain of custody of the auctioned items, all missions of India in foreign countries should be asked to raise an objection if such an auction was scheduled in future and the items existing in India (Chandigarh) should be declared as art treasure under The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, to ensure their protection.