Third auction of city heritage furniture abroad in over a month

In yet another jolt to the UT Administration, heritage furniture of the city has been auctioned abroad. This time, six heritage items were sold for a record Rs 1.75 crore during an auction conducted by Sotheby’s, an auction house, at Paris on November 27.

Among the six items auctioned was an illuminated reading table from the Panjab University Library, which fetched Rs 89 lakh. This is the third biggest auction in over a month in which the heritage items were sold for crores.

The last two auctions were held in the USA and London in the last week of October. Fourteen furniture items designed by Pierre Jeanneret, a close associate of Swiss architect Le Corbusier, were sold for around Rs 1,44,05,119 by an auction house, Wright, based in Chicago, USA, on October 27. Earlier, three items were sold for around Rs 1. 50 crore during an auction conducted by Phillips, an auction house, in London on October 24.

The items which were auctioned at Paris include a pair of arm chairs (32,000 euros), illuminated reading table (1,12,500 euros), kangaroo chair (37,500 euros), desk (7,500 euros), a sofa (18,000 euros) and pair of two chairs (14,000 euros).

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