At the Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art Auction by Bonhams that concluded in London recently, the most important result that threw itself up — and which all watchers of South Asian art must take note of — is the rise of the market value of Pakistani masters by a percentage point so high that it catapulted works by four of them to the Top 10 table that largely features Indian masters generally. Works by Anwar Jalal Shemza (1928-1985), Ismail Gulgee (1926-2007), Ustad Allah Bux (1895-1978) and Jamil Naqsh (b. 1938) sold at price points considerably higher than their pre-auction estimates. Of these four, the top seller was an untitled 1961 by Anwar Jalal Shemza. Born in Shimla in pre-partition India, Shemza was a leading creative figure of Pakistan. He was not just a highly acclaimed painter and printmaker, but also an Urdu novelist and poet, with several published works to his credit. He spent the latter half of his life in the English town of Stafford, his wife’s hometown.Of these masters from Pakistan, Gulgee is perhaps the best known. Globally renowned, he was a self-taught painter, and a qualified engineer from the US, having studied at Columbia University and Harvard. His abstract paintings, which he increasingly turned to towards the second half of his career, were influenced by the tradition of Islamic calligraphy. Ustad Allah Bux, one of the early modern painters of Pakistan, is known for his depictions of rural life, folk culture and mythology from the land of undivided Punjab. Jamil Naqsh, who currently lives in London, trained briefly at the renowned National College of Arts, Lahore, and is known for painting mostly women and pigeons.The second most notable development that emerged from the auction was the fact that Indian modern masters, who have not been celebrated by the auction circuit yet, have a receptive market waiting to lap up their works. Besides the regular names, newer signatures made it to the Top 10 list. These included Antonio Xavier Trindade (1870-1935), K.K. Hebbar (1911-1996), and Sakti Burman (b. 1935). Trindade, who was nicknamed “Rembrandt of the East,” was born to Catholic parents in Goa, which was then under the Portuguese rule. He emigrated to Bombay, then under the British rule and was of the earlier batches of Sir J.J. School of Art. After finishing his education, he started teaching at JJ. Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar, on the other hand, was from Udupi in Karnataka. He too studied at Sir J.J. School of Art and later at Academie Julian in Paris. His art works are considered an important phase of the development of modern Indian art.Here are the Top 10 canvases sold at Bonhams’ Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art Auction:1. Untitled (Landscape), 1961, oil on canvas, by Francis Newton Souza (1924-2002). Estimate: £15,000 - £18,000 Sold For: £37,500 (approx. Rs 36.39 lakh)2. Untitled (Portrait of an Old Man), 1919, oil on board, by Antonio Xavier Trindade (1870-1935). Estimate: £6,000 - £8,000 Sold For: £33,750 (approx. Rs 32.75 lakh)3. The Soul Must Have Choices, oil on canvas, by Sakti Burman (b. 1935). Estimate: £20,000 - £30,000 Sold For: £28,750 (approx. Rs 27.90 lakh)4. Untitled, 1961, oil on hand-dyed cloth laid on board, by Anwar Jalal Shemza (1928-1985). Estimate: £3,000 - £5,000 Sold For: £28,750 (approx. Rs 27.90 lakh)5. Untitled (Head), 1999, charcoal on paper, by Tyeb Mehta (1929-2009). Estimate: £15,000 - £20,000 Sold For: £20,000 (approx. Rs 19.41 lakh)6. Untitled (Abstract), 2003, oil on canvas, by Ismail Gulgee (1926-2007). Estimate: £7,000 - £9,000 Sold For: £20,000 (approx. Rs 19.41 lakh)7. Energy, 1979, oil on canvas, by Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar (1911-1996). Estimate: £15,000 - £25,000 Sold For: £18,750 (approx. Rs 18.19 lakh)8. Basket Carrier, oil on canvas, by Krishen Khanna (b. 1925). Estimate: £15,000 - £20,000 Sold For: £18,750 (approx. Rs 18.19 lakh)9. Landscape with Shepherd and Flock, 1952, oil on canvas, by Ustad Allah Bux (1895-1978). Estimate: £25,000 - £35,000 Sold For: £18,750 (approx. Rs 18.19 lakh) 10. Untitled (Woman with Dove 2001), oil on canvas, by Jamil Naqsh (b. 1938). Estimate: £10,000 - £15,000 Sold For: £17,750 (approx. Rs 16.98 lakh)Follow@ARTINFOIndia
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