Christie's South Asian Art Sale Totals $22.57M as Hong Kong Anchors Global Auction Week
On 16 September, Christie's New York successfully sold all items in its auction dedicated to modern and contemporary South Asian art, achieving a remarkable total of $22.57 million—more than three times the aggregate low estimate. Notably, Francis Newton Souza's 1949 artwork *Woman with Lamp* fetched $2.304 million, nearly six times its minimum estimate. Additionally, Benodebehari Mukherjee's *Untitled (Seated Figure)* set a new record for the artist at $128,000. The interest in South Asian art continues to rise in New York, with a return to London scheduled for 29 September. Meanwhile, Sotheby's will launch its auction in Hong Kong on 28 September, featuring *The Foujita Lexicon* and Mark Rothko's *Untitled (Plum and Dark Brown)*, while Christie's Paris auction on 30 September will showcase a unique piece by Diego Giacometti.
Key facts
- Christie's New York sold 100% of lots in its modern and contemporary South Asian art auction on 16 September, totaling $22.57 million, over three times the combined low estimate, with eight auction records
- Francis Newton Souza's *Woman with Lamp* (1949) sold for $2.304 million, nearly six times its low estimate
- Benodebehari Mukherjee's *Untitled (Seated Figure)* reached $128,000, a new auction record for the artist
- Sotheby's Hong Kong opens on 28 September with *The Foujita Lexicon* and the *Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction*, featuring Mark Rothko's 1964 *Untitled (Plum and Dark Brown)* estimated at HK$78–128 million
- An unheated 9.86-carat Kashmir sapphire leads Phillips' Hong Kong art and jewels sale with an estimate of HK$7.5–9.5 million
- Christie's Paris disperses the Jeanne-Marie de Broglie collection on 30 September, including Diego Giacometti's unique table *Berceau* (c. 1981), estimated at €400,000–600,000
- South Asian modern and contemporary art returns to auction at Sotheby's London on 29 September, thirteen days after Christie's New York sale
- At Il Ponte's Sport auction in Milan, a Mercedes chronograph dedicated to Rudolf Caracciola estimated at €150–200 sold for €1,430, and a Scuderia Ferrari booklet estimated at €300–400 sold for €1,170
Entities
Artists
- Francis Newton Souza
- Mark Rothko
- Benodebehari Mukherjee
- Jeanne-Marie de Broglie
- Diego Giacometti
- Séraphine
- Rudolf Caracciola
- Jehangir Sabavala
- Ganesh Pyne
- Meera Mukherjee
Institutions
- Christie's
- Sotheby's
- Phillips
- PIASA
- K Auction
- Mainichi
- Il Ponte
- Scuderia Ferrari
- Mercedes
Locations
- New York
- United States
- London
- United Kingdom
- Hong Kong
- China
- Seoul
- South Korea
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Paris
- France
- Vienna
- Austria
- Milan
- Italy
- Kashmir