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Of the fall and rise of art mart

Dadha's optimism notwithstanding, and in spite of the auction boom in India, he may have a tougher time of it than expected, and not only on account of the new entrants getting into the space.

In recent years, Bowrings has come to grief, allegedly falling foul of the law -- the case is in court, and Patrick Bowrings expects to be fully cleared of any irregularities. Even Osian's has not escaped the taint of grey-area regulations, but there is no gainsaying that it and Saffronart between them have created the market (and benchmarked skyrocketing prices in the process) for auctions of Indian art.

Internationally, Christie's, Sotheby's and Bonhams have conducted sales in New York, London, Hong Kong and Dubai, mostly successfully. But back home, Apparao has had somewhat less success though it has built itself up steadily thereafter, and the hyped launch of Nina Pillai's Triveda has been unable to sustain any promise.

Still, it has not been able to inhibit other entrants from foraying into a market currently estimated at around Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion). In Delhi, Naren Bhiku Ram Jain's Art Mall has plans for a series of auctions. And in Kolkata, Emami Chisel Art, which will have its own gallery this month, will debut with its first auction of modern and contemporary art next month.

Indian art lovers walk amongst paintings during a preview of the fine arts auction organised by Dib and Hammer Auctioneers Private Limited in Bangalore.

Photograph: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images

Also read: Art, now a big investment option

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