KARACHI, April 23: Paintings and other artworks by South Asian artists will go under the hammer in London on Thursday, according to information available here on Saturday. According to a catalogue issued by the auction house Bonhams, at least 684 objects will be up for auction at an exhibition called “Islamic and Indian Art”.
Jamil Naqsh, whose artistic genius was acknowledged in a retrospective held at the Mohatta Palace Museum in Karachi sometime back, has a prominent place in the exhibition with his nudes and trademark pigeons. At least nine of his paintings will go under the hammer with a total reserve price of 56,000 pounds.
Four Sadequains and a Chughtai will also be up for auction. Three paintings by Ahmed Parvez are also included in the auction.
Maqbool Fida Hussain from India is probably the most expensive artist in the auction, with four of his paintings for which the minimum overall price is said to be 86,000 pounds.
Hussain’s compatriot Francis Newton Souza will also have a prominent place in the exhibition and 10 of his paintings will go under the hammer.
A large number of miniatures have been included. An illustrated chronicle produced during the reign of the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh is said to be one of the most beautiful miniatures in the auction.
The description of the chronicle in the catalogue reads: “Persian manuscript on paper, 290 leaves including 11 blanks, 29 lines to the page written in ‘nastaliq’ script in black ink, significant words picked out in red ink throughout, interlinear gilt decoration, margins ruled in colours and gold, catchwords in wide margins, commentaries in margins contained gilt cartouches, outer border decorated with an intertwining vegetal motif in gold, one illuminated headpiece in colours and gold, two double- page miniatures of the Mughal Emperor Akbar and the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh and their courts, four full-page miniatures, headings in red within illuminated panels, date tampered with to read 195 instead of 295, some faded staining not affecting text, later European-style purple gilt-tooled leather, worn, marbled paper doublures, worn.”
Many other collectors’ items will also be up for auction. Among them are a carved stone figure of Parvati (18th/19th century) and a relief carving from a ceremonial chariot depicting a male deity wielding a sword, flanked by a winged attendant and a female devotee bearing a jar (18th century).
A large number of specimens of calligraphy will be part of the auction. An illuminated Quran section (probably from Beijing, 17th century) is one of the many manuscripts on display. — Bahzad Alam Khan
