Heritage furniture worth over Rs 1 crore to be auctioned in UK today

Since 2011, Jagga has been writing to the Chandigarh Administration to probe the disappearance of furniture designed by Corbusier and Jeanneret, and their appearances at auction houses in Europe and America, where each piece was sold for lakhs.

It seems there is no stopping the auctioning of heritage furniture. Six items designed by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier and his associate Pierre Jeanneret is all set to auctioned in the United Kingdom on September 20. The reserve price of the items have been kept at a whopping Rs 1.84 crore.

Social activist Ajay Jagga has written to Director Revenue Intelligence informing it about this auction to be held on Wednesday. Since 2011, Jagga has been writing to the Chandigarh Administration to probe the disappearance of furniture designed by Corbusier and Jeanneret, and their appearances at auction houses in Europe and America, where each piece was sold for lakhs.

Recently, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) wrote to the Punjab government to initiate action under conduct rules against a senior government official for his alleged transactions with a businessman accused of antique smuggling of furniture from Chandigarh.

At the auction, 10 arm chairs designed by Pierre Jeanneret will be auctioned and the reserve price has been kept at Rs 73.76 lakh while a writing arm chair designed for the Panjab University(PU) holds the highest reserve price of Rs 6 lakh. The estimated auction price of a ‘rare Court’s President’ armchair’ designed for the High Court, has been kept at Rs 13 lakh.

A ‘reading table’ and a ‘cane seat wood back’ chair designed for the High Court, Punjab University Library and Central State Library, has been kept at the reserve price of Rs 30 lakh and Pierre Jeanneret -pair of ‘Committee’ armchairs, designed for the HC, the Assembly and Punjab University administrative buildings, Chandigarh, 1959-1960, with a reserve price of Rs 34 lakh will also be auctioned.