MUMBAI (AFP).- Christie's strengthened its foothold in the Indian art market Thursday with only its second sale in the country, showcasing a range of work by homegrown modern artists.

The London-based auction house offered 78 lots at Mumbai's luxury Taj Mahal Palace hotel and raised 752.7 million rupees ($12.04 million), exceeding estimates, following its first sale in the same venue last year.

The best-seller was Tyeb Mehta's 1999 acrylic on canvas "Falling Bull", which sold for 175.4 million rupees ($2.8 million) to an internet buyer in New York.

Works by other modernists M.F. Husain and S.H. Raza were among those to go under the hammer, with the oldest piece being a pocket notebook of author and artist Rabindranath Tagore, dated 1889 to 1904.

Growing wealth has fuelled an interest in art collecting among India's super rich, but the auction did not quite match the success of Christie's inaugural sale last year, which more than doubled estimates to raise $15.5 million.

Sonal Singh, Christie's head of department in Mumbai, said second sales were "always a little bit harder", but added that "the depth of the market is visible, quality works are in demand."

Contemporary Indian art enjoyed heady days before prices plummeted with the 2008 global economic crisis, but the market for the country's modern masters has proved more stable.

A report from market research firm Art Tactic earlier this month said confidence in the Indian art market was at its highest since November 2007.

"The reason we have come here is we have seen very active bidding out of India," said Amin Jaffer, international director of Asian art, at a viewing of the lots earlier this week.

"We've seen an expansion in the range of interest."

India's art market lags behind that of China, where the first Christie's auction last year raised $25 million, and which has boosted its art scene by pouring money into new museums.

Christie's said education and exposure were a key aim of its sales in India, where the market has also suffered from cumbersome regulations and import duties.

"Many of the pieces are of museum quality," Jaffer said. "It's a rare opportunity."

Tagore's book and several other lots are deemed "national art treasures", meaning they cannot leave the country.

Alongside the modern art, 10 contemporary lots were sold to benefit the Delhi-based art residency, Khoj International Artists' Association.

Although 2013 saw its first sale, Christie's has had an office in Mumbai for 20 years and opened a Delhi branch last month.



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