Technology has made physical presence passé. And when it’s an art auction, collectors — a clan known for its anonymity — can only applaud when all they need is a phone or a laptop to make their bid.
The world’s largest online fine art auction house, Saffornart’s Summer Online Art Auction of Modern and Contemporary Indian will be held on June 16-17 athttp://www.saffronart.com/. The online auction will feature 90 creations by 45 leading names of the art world.
The auction’s highlight will comprise of works by masters such as SH Raza, Akbar Padamsee, FN Souza, Subodh Gupta, NS Harsha and TV Santosh.
But how does one get a feel of the work? Bidders can go online and print catalogues that carry information, including high-resolution images and estimates of the artwork, along with detailed condition reports and pricing of similar works sold in auction previously, says Dinesh Vazirani, CEO and co-founder of Saffronart.
For those who crave for intimate rendezvous with art pieces, previews and private viewings are made available in Mumbai, New York and London.
Vazirani says the online auction format allows bidding over a two-day period, unlike regular auctions where bidders may be constrained by a three-hour auction window period. That apart, the company’s recent launch — a mobile bidding application available for BlackBerry, Nokia and the Apple iPhone — removes constraints of space.
The auction will range from Rs24 crore ($5.4 million) to Rs31 crore ($7 million).
Recounting the previous auction, Vazirani says: “Our Spring Online Art Auction 2010 saw 75 per cent of the lots on offer sold, grossing Rs21 crore, which represents a significant increase from the March auction a year ago. These figures are indicative that growth has returned to the market.”
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