NEW YORK, NY.- On 17th and 18th March 2015 Sotheby’s two sales of Indian Art brought the outstanding total of $16,632,875, comfortably exceeding the high estimate for the auctions. The sales were led by the extraordinarily rare Untitled (Self-portrait) by Amrita Sher-Gil which sold for $2,920,000, well over the $1.2/1.8 million estimate and a new record for any Indian female artist. Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art brought $10,589,000, the highest total for a Sotheby’s sale in the category since 2007 and a 60% increase on the equivalent sale last season, a result that was largely driven by the entry of several major new collectors into the market. Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art Including Property from the Estate of Dr. Claus Virch fetched $6,014,625 with exceptional prices for Indian miniatures, Indian sculpture, and Himalayan works-of-art. The total is the highest for a various-owner sale of India and South East Asian Works of Art during this March 2015 round of Asian Week auctions. The Claus Virch Collection which was compiled by the distinguished former curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, achieved a combined total of $1,176,250, comfortably doubling the low estimate while A Very Fine Gilt Copper Alloy Figure Of Chakrasamvara And Vajravarahi, Tibet, 15th century realized $1,570,000, over twice the high estimate of $600,000.

Yamini Mehta, International Head of Indian and South Asian Art at Sotheby’s commented: “These sales were ground-breaking for Indian and South Asian Art at Sotheby’s. The combined total was a testament to the exciting variety of works drawn from a range of private collections which attracted bidders from around the world, many of whom participated in a Sotheby’s sale for the first time. The appearance at auction of a work by Amrita Sher-Gil is an historic event and so it is fitting that it led our best sale result in a decade. The group of Rabindranath Tagore drawings which have been in the same private collection since being purchased from the artist was a further highlight and yet again demonstrated that collectors will extend well over the high estimate for well-priced works that have not appeared previously at auction.” ‘

Anu Ghosh-Mazumdar, Head of Sotheby’s Indian and Southeast Asian Department commented: “It was an honour to be entrusted with Property from the Estate of Dr. Claus Virch in our March sale. It is a testament to the wide-appeal and beauty of Indian Miniature paintings that they were collected by as eminent a figure as Dr. Virch and we are thrilled that collectors from Asia, Europe, and the US continually drove prices over their high estimates. Elsewhere in the auction, the exceptional results for Indian sculptures, Himalayan works-ofart, and an outstanding Jain painting demonstrate that Sotheby’s expertise continually achieves strong prices by attracting the global Indian Art collecting community.”

Priyanka Mathew, Head of Sales of Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art at Sotheby’s New York added: “It was thrilling to be the auctioneer for the historic Sher-Gil painting which fetched close to $3 million. The price is a record for both the artist and also for any Indian female painter. The spirited bidding on the Self-Portrait came from three continents and lasted over ten minutes to result in a landmark price.”