Restored Tipu paintings fetch crores

Recalling history through restored paintings of a historic battle that fetched crores at a recent auction



Indian history books have recorded Tipu Sultan’s victorious battles in Southern India in the 18th century, and we now have documentation of those successes in the form of 24 “preparatory” paintings that were sold recently in London.

The paintings depicting the Battle of Pollilur, also known as Battle of Perambakam, that took place on 10th September 1780 near present-day Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, were bought by an anonymous telephone bidder for INR 55,981,934 (£769,250 or US$1,224,184).

Tipu Sultan commanded the Kingdom of Mysore against Col. William Baille of the British East India Company, which history records, surrendered and suffered a high number of casualties. In a subsequent battle, Colonel Arthur Wellesley and the British defeated Tipu Sultan at the Battle of Seringapatam (now Srirangapatam) on 4th May 1799.



The 24 paintings, which were done on rice paper shortly after the battle were originally part of two long scrolls, each 7 ft. by 30 ft. The story goes that following the Pollilur battle, Tipu Sultan commissioned a mural to commemorate his father, Hyder Ali’s victory that was installed in the Daria Daulat Palace, Seringapatam in 1784. It is believed, the preparatory paintings were the work of an Indian artist.

The scrolls with the preparatory paintings were chopped up into 24 paintings which have survived in remarkably good condition. The paintings illustrate Hyder and Tipu, splendidly attired on their elephants, supported by their army and the French mercenaries. The restoration was done using the preparatory paintings for referencing and is attributed to one of the commanding officers who attended the siege in 1799 — Wellesley, later 1st Duke of Wellington, known for his military prowess.



History buffs will be interested in the paintings’ provenance: it was reportedly acquired around 1802 by Captain John William Freese, a member of the Madras Artillery, who played an important role in the siege of Seringapatam in 1799. The same year he was appointed by General Stuart as Commissary of Stores at Seringapatam. By descent the paintings went to 6th Earl of Lanesborough (grandson of Captain Freese) and remained in the family for a further 100 years until they were sold as part of a group lot in the Swithland Hall Estate Sale in 1978.

(A New York based independent trend writer, Raj S. Rangarajan reports on the art market and auto shows and reviews films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; and India.)

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RAJ S. RANGARAJAN

Continued Vibrancy Seen at NY Fall Auction

RAJ S. RANGARAJAN

At the contemporary art sale in New York in mid-September, works by Indian artists held center stage at Christie's and Sotheby's with two artists creating auction records for their work. Bhupen Khakhar's Muslims Around a Mosque II, 2001(180 cm x 120 cm - oil on canvas depicting a mosque's environs) sold for $650,000 at more than twice the high estimate and Arpita Singh's Munna Apa's Garden, 1989 (158.1 cm x 173.4 cm - oil on canvas that shows the artist's milder side) was bought by an Indian collector for $506,500 at three times the high estimate. Singh (73) was born in West Bengal and studied art in New Delhi. She painted Bengali folk paintings in the '80s and took up oils in the '90s.

Auctioneers, collectors and galleries are upbeat about the vibrancy in the art market in spite of a sluggish recovery in other areas of the economy. With provenances for quality art items being recognized and appreciated, newer clients are seen investing in art. Lately, international institutions have gotten into the act of collection.

S. H. Raza and F. N. Souza were the $1 million-plus artists this Fall season with younger artists, Rashid Rana and T.V. Santhosh (both 1968-born) also creating a buzz among art lovers. Rana's Red Carpet III, 2007 (chromogenic print and Diasec mounted: 133 cm x 183 cm), in pixels of thousands of tiny digitized images, initially tends to crowd one's thoughts but soon, with concentration, one comprehends vividly what the artist is trying to convey. An American bought it for $182,500. Santhosh's Untitled oil, 2008 (122 cm x 183 cm.) that sold for $110,500, depicts in his customary red-and-green a common subject such as war with contemplative imagery.

In keeping with his signature installations dealing with everyday images such as stainless steel pans in households, Subodh Gupta's Two Cows that shows bronze, aluminium and chrome milk cans was bought by an European bidder for $542,500 against a high estimate of $350,000. Says the artist, "The bicycle is like a mechanized cow in the city.?in the country if I wanted milk, I would go to the cows to get it; in the city it is delivered to you by bicycle."

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(A New York based independent trend writer, Raj S. Rangarajan reports on the art market and auto shows and reviews films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; and India.)

Vibrancy Returns to Autumn Asian Art Auctions

by Raj S. Rangarajan

NEW YORK—The fall Asian art sales in New York, held Sept. 14–17, realized $98.4 million, with Christie’s contributing $70.75 million while Sotheby’s total was $27.65 million. Last year’s total was $77 million, of which Christie’s sales accounted for $57.3 million and Sotheby’s contributed $19.3 million (ANL, 9/22/09).

Christie’s Asian art categories were: South Asian Modern and contemporary art ($7.54 million), Indian and Southeast Asian art ($3.98 million); Japanese and Korean art including arts of the Meiji period ($3.68 million); Chinese ceramics and works of art ($34.11 million); the Sze Yuan Tang archaic bronzes from the Anthony Hardy collection ($20.75 million); and Chinese works including objects from the Arthur M. Sackler collections ($686,000).

Theow Tow, deputy chairman of Christie’s Americas and honorary chairman of Christie’s Asia said, “This season’s sales have shown the market for Asian art . . . remains extremely vibrant, with clients from Asia continuing to participate strongly just as American and European buyers were equally active.”

Seven-Figure Sums for Raza, Souza

At the South Asian modern and contemporary sale, works by contemporary Indian artists such as Subodh Gupta, T.V. Santhosh, Rashid Rana, Atul Dodiya, and Anju Dodiya did well.

La Terre, 1985, an acrylic by Syed Haider Raza (b. 1922), sold for $1.93 million, (estimate: $2 million/2.5 million), and an oil, Untitled (Large Head) by Francis Newton Souza (1924–2002), 1962, was bought by a U.S. collector for $1.43 million (estimate: $1.2 million/1.8 million). Two Cows by Gupta (b. 1964), 2005, an installation made of bronze and aluminum with chrome, was bought for $542,500 (estimate: $280,000/350,000), and an oil on canvas, Untitled (Durga) by Manjit Bawa (1941–2008), was bought by a U.S. trade buyer for $314,500 (estimate: $200,000/250,000).

Hugo Weihe, international director of Asian art and international specialist head, South Asian modern and contemporary art in New York, said that new clients entered the market “at a very high level, demonstrating confidence in a category that is well established. The sale saw lively bidding by international buyers in the room, on the telephone, and online, with strong participation from international institutions.”

In the Indian and Southeast Asian art category, a Roman silver Kantharos, Gandhara, ca. late 1st century b.c., was bought by an unidentified Asian institution for $434,500 (estimate: $150,000/250,000), and a gilt bronze figure of Vajrasattva, Mongolia, Zanabazar School, 18th century sold for $314,500 (estimate: $200,000/300,000). Sandhya Jain Patel, Indian and southeast Asian art specialist, said that “the auction attracted U.S. and Asian institutions, who were among the buyers of the top ten lots and represent a diversity of interests throughout the sale.”

In the Japanese and Korean art sales, a Joseon Dynasty, 1901, eight-panel screen, ink and color on silk—Royal Banquet for the Celebration of the 50th Birthday of the Emperor Gojong—was sold for $842,500 (estimate: $300,000/350,000).
Sotheby’s $27.65 million total included sales of Chinese ceramics and works of art ($15.17 million), South Asian art ($7.54 million) and Chinese snuff bottles from the Joe Grimberg collection ($4.93 million).

At Sotheby’s South Asian art sale, work by Indian artists Bhupen Khakhar (1934–2003) and Arpita Singh (b. 1937) set new records. Khakhar’s Muslims Around a Mosque II, 2001, sold for $650,500 (estimate: $150,000/250,000) and Singh’s oil Munna Apa’s Garden, 1989, was bought by an Indian bidder for $506,500 (estimate: $100,000/150,000). Also attaining a record price was a miniature opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper, an illustration to the Gita Govinda: Radha Proceeds to Her Tryst with Krishna, 1780, which fetched $290,500 (estimate: $150,000/250,000). Cinq Sens (Five Senses), 1958, by M.F. Husain (b. 1915), was bought by an Indian bidder for $782,500 exceeding the $500,000/700,000 estimate.

Citing the sale’s “exceptional results,” Zara Porter Hill, international head of Indian art at Sotheby’s, said, “Competitive international bidding resulted in more than half the lots sold achieving prices in excess of high estimates.”

My Name is Khan and “I am not a Terrorist.”

Ultimate Bollywood » Bollywood Features » 2010

The film My Name is Khan is particularly relevant this week on the occasion of the 9th anniversary of 9/11. It is particularly befitting with the recent release of the DVD of the film -- first Bollywood production to gross $4 million.

by Raj S. Rangarajan

How five months make a world of difference. When My Name is Khan was released early in Spring this year Bollywood-watchers were waiting with trepidation – if not suspense – whether this film which such an obvious title would make it big at the box office. Now, after 150 days the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer continues to raise eyebrows in terms of storyline and box office value.

The film from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is now available on DVD and on Amazon.com and is the top Bollywood film for 2010 with $4 million gross. According to Gitesh Pandya the film guru who monitors and reports on Bollywood films, My Name is Khan surpassed SRK’s earlier record of $3.6 million for Om Shanti Om, released in 2007. It is also director Karan Johar’s biggest film ever.

But, with the new controversy over the mosque to be built at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan hogging the headlines in some sections of the media with pro- and anti-Muslim adherents, its anybody’s guess as to how DVD sales will be affected.

SRK and Kajol deliver powerful performances in this romance that proves true love knows no boundaries. Shah Rukh Khan (Rizvan Khan), an Indian with a unique way of looking at his world and Kajol Devgan (Mandira Rathore), a vivacious single mother, are the main characters and their chemistry on the screen is well-known.

They form a special bond and fall in love against all odds, but fate and tragedy conspire to tear them apart. Just when it appears as though all hope is lost, Rizwan embarks on a remarkable journey across America to win back the love of his life.

Made with a sensitive touch, the movie carries a polarizing influence perhaps more because of the theme and title. The fact that Khan’s last name is Muslim is perhaps incidental but that’s not how some cinemagoers view the movie whether they live in downtown, New York or in downtown Murfreesboro, Tennessee where a mosque was recently vandalized.

The film is particularly relevant this week on the occasion of 9/11’s ninth anniversary. After September 11, 2001, more movies with a “terrorist” theme seem to sell better in the United States. Remember New York, the film, starring John Abraham and Katrina Kaif and Kurbaan 2009 with Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor.

After their mother’s passing in India, Rizvan’s younger brother, portrayed by Jimmy Shergill invites Rizvan to move to San Francisco. When Rizvan wants to marry Mandira who runs a successful hairdressing outfit, Jimmy’s character objects but never explains why. A major twist in the story occurs when Mandira’s son is beaten up in a playground by boys of Caucasian origin. Motives are attributed to the incident without adequate explanations even by the law enforcement authorities.

No investigation is conducted by anyone and soon the boy’s death is a closed chapter for the authorities. But, not for Mandira who has been personally affected. The racial profiling mindset in the movie is telling in that when Mandira declares, “if my son’s name was Rathore – not Khan – he would have been alive.”

People who experience overt discrimination in some degree or other can relate to this movie directly. Each parent and child in North America has his or her own defence mechanism to deal with such real-life situations and this movie drives close to home. One cannot judge whether the incident was racially-motivated or whether it was the effect of a smaller boy – a South Asian kid – taking on a bigger boy, who happened to be Caucasian.

While Rizvan Khan is constantly muttering that he is not a terrorist but wants to meet the American president it is never explained why he wishes to meet the leader. Is it because his mother had inculcated in him a desire to do so? Or is it because Mandira, in a fit of pique, challenges him to do so. Kajol sparkles as usual and SRK tends to overact.

The Director’'s and cameramen'’s subtle nuances are touching. Niranjan Iyengar'’s dialogue is pithy and cinematographer, Ravi K. Chandran has proven once again that he is a classy performer.

An uplifting story of understanding and tolerance, the movie is mostly shot in San Francisco and runs 185 minutes. The DVD is closed-captioned and carries subtitles in English, Spanish and French ideal for any weekend viewing.

[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, reviews books and films for media based in New York, Toronto, Republic of Korea and India.]

Seven crores for sperm elephant sculpture

Retail Plus Chennai














Continuing the bullish trend in contemporary art sales Sotheby’s London recorded yet another successful auction recently. Among the impressive results was Bharti Kher’s life-sized female Indian elephant sculpture – The Skin Speaks a Language not its Own – that established not only a record for the artist but also a new record for any work by a contemporary female Indian artist at an auction. The 142 x 456.2 x 195 cm masterpiece sold for INR 7.1 crores (£993,250 or USD 1.5 million).

In this work that took ten months to create in her Gurgaon studio, Bharti focused on every fold and recess of the sunken pachyderm form and meticulously contoured it in intricately arranged patterns of thousands of “bindis” that organically swarm across the beast in a second skin.

The interesting twist is that Bharti’s bindis are sperm-shaped and on close observation one sees millions of swimming images that constitute a tired elephant about to recline. The artist easily combines two recognised, but powerful symbols of India – the Indian bindi and the Indian elephant. Her other well-known colourful bindi arrangement on a painted board is “Untitled” and adorns a gallery in the UK.














Emphasizing the importance of this sculpture, Director and Head of Sotheby’s Indian Art Department, Zara Porter-Hill said, “Despite our familiarity with elephants, nothing prepares the viewer for the emotional experience of seeing Bharti Kher’s elephant – huge and incongruous in the gallery space. With her head resting on her front foot, she is brought down to our level and the glassy black eye entreats a communion and proximity rarely encountered in the wild.”

Forty-year-old, Bharti was born in London, England, studied at the Middlesex Polytechnic, Cat Hill, London and did her B.A. Honours in Fine Art and Painting at Newcastle Polytechnic. Interestingly, Bharti’s is a reverse case of the émigré moving to India from the UK at age 23. The Indian milieu of having been in Delhi since 1993 has undoubtedly helped Bharti excel in her chosen endeavour though admittedly, in today’s global art marketplace where one pitches one’s tent is perhaps irrelevant.

The fact that she is married to renowned artist Subodh Gupta, known for his unique stainless utensils art, is perhaps incidental.

(A New York based independent trend writer, Raj S. Rangarajan reports on the art market and auto shows and reviews films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; Seoul, Korea and India.)

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RAJ S RANGARAJAN

Tagore's art creates records in London

Continued confidence in the Indian market and the ever-growing appetite for contemporary art both in India and elsewhere were in evidence when lively bidding between art collectors and trade buyers helped boost sales of South Asian art at Sotheby's, London two weeks ago.

Twelve of Tagore's paintings, portraits and landscapes were sold for £1.6 million (Rs. 11.13 crores). First time to appear at an auction, these Tagore pieces were part of the Dartington Hall Trust, a charitable organization based in South Devon in the UK. Tagore's Untitled (Portrait of a Woman) a watercolor and colored ink on paper, signed 'Rabindra' and dated '38' in Bengali, that measures 49.5 x 40 cm. (19-1/2 x 15-3/4) created a record for the late artist and sold at seven times the high estimate for £313,250 (Rs. 21.54 crores). The previous auction record for a work by Tagore for his Death Scene was £144,500 at Sotheby's in May 2008.

Most Indians know Rabindranath Tagore as a poet, philosopher and songwriter and perhaps as the first Indian Nobel Prize winner for literature (1913). But, did you know that Tagore took to creating art when he was 70?

At the auction, yet another Indian artist Somnath Hore (1921-2006) also created a record with his The Khajani Player, 1995 that was bought by an Indian collector for £157,250 (10.81 crores). The bronze sculpture that measures 125 x 96 cm (49-1/4 x 37-3/4 ) graphically details the strains a musician has to endure. But the top seller was an acrylic on canvas, painted in 1979-81 - Rajasthan - by Syed Haider Raza (b. 1922) that sold at £517,250 (Rs. 35.57 crores). About 48 inches square Raza's vibrant splash of orange and pink reminds one of Jaipur, the pink city.

Englishman Leonard Elmhirst was a close friend of Tagore's in the United States and after graduating from Cornell University in 1921, traveled to India to become Tagore's secretary. He and his wife Dorothy purchased an estate in Dartington to promote Tagore's interest in art, education and social reconstruction, subjects very close to Leonard's heart as well.

Holly Brackenbury, Deputy Director of Indian Art at Sotheby's, said, proceeds from these sales will be part of an investment for developing art and sustainability initiatives. The trust will celebrate Tagore's 150th birth anniversary between May 1 and 7 next year.

(A New York based independent trend writer, Raj S. Rangarajan reports on the art market and auto shows and reviews films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; Seoul, Korea and India.)

Pictures courtesy: Sotheby's
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Raavan or Raavanan: Film Review, July 2010

Toronto, Canada

Raavan or Raavanan – The Film Makes one Think

Raj S. Rangarajan

NEW YORK: When one thinks of a Bollywood film one normally associates it with escapism, with fun or fantasy or both. So, when the film Raavan (Hindi) or Raavanan (Tamil) came along, one was forced to wear one’s thinking cap and wonder what exactly was director Mani Ratnam trying to convey.
In a first-of-its-kind, live experience with the actors and maker of Raavan, thanks to Cisco technology’s TelePresence – media from New York, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Dubai could see and hear clearly, in real-time, face-to-face interactions between participants: Director Mani Ratnam and Tamil actor Vikram in Chennai and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan in Mumbai, thousands of miles away.

To a question Ratnam explained why he was not into sending messages to society at large. “I am not providing any message, I merely share an emotion, share a thought, share laughter, that’s what we do.” The director has stretched the 138-minute film a bit to live up to the title since the 14-year Ramayana analogy had to be adapted to 14 days for the movie. The allegory is clear. You have the forest, the intrigue, the 14 years, the name of the film, the locations and the usual connection between good and evil except that one is left wondering whether good really triumphs over evil or is it love that conquers.

Ratnam suggests, one should see Raavan or Raavanan from Ragini's (Aishwarya) point of view. (She plays the same role in both: Hindi and Tamil.) Wife of a police inspector, Ragini has clear views on right and wrong. In her journey there is the hunter and the hunted and with roles and characters constantly changing, one wonders if the hunted becomes the hunter. The battle between good and evil continues, and when the lines between them tend to blur one wonders whom to favor: the cops (Inspector Dev played by Prithviraj in Hindi and Vikram in Tamil) or a tribal chief Beera Munda (Abhishek in Hindi) or Veeraiya (Vikram in Tamil) who fancies Ragini.

Actor Govinda could have been used better in the Hindi version. He pops up suddenly (like Hanuman) specially when he has to help the inspector-husband, Dev, who sees himself as the law, the punisher and the righteous. The untamed but popular tribal leader kidnaps Ragini, (an epitome of conscience and beauty) to avenge abuse of his sister played by Priyamani (Jamuna in Hindi and Vennila in Tamil) by the inspector’s men. Aishwarya shows emotion in a few scenes and Abhishek's effort at emotional conflict is commendable.

Both, the Tamil and Hindi versions were above par though Vikram, the Tamil actor (as Dev) has performed better than Abhishek in the same role. Ratnam brushed aside Vikram’s initial hesitation about playing Dev in Hindi. Says Vikram, “The most difficult thing for me was the Hindi version, I didn’t want to do it, but “Mani-sir” said, “You can do it and boosted my confidence.” Added Vikram, “I found every location beautiful. Wherever we went, we had to drive down in a car for two hours, then get into a jeep for an hour and walk for another 15 minutes, and the beautiful sites [in North India and South India] were visual treats.” Overall, it’s a plus for Vikram in two combative roles in the same movie.

Cinematographers Santosh Sivan and V. Manikandan have done a terrific job with some of the footage literally breathtaking: the collapsing bridge, rivals hanging literally to the bridge in adverse weather and a romantic ambience showing love-birds about to sit down for wine and dinner while overlooking soothing waters.

To another journo query, Abhishek responded, “I feel the audience will question themselves after this film. I think whenever I saw the rushes or when dubbing the film or even while performing, I think Mani as a director, was asking the audience, “what is right, what is wrong and who is to decide? What is right for Beera in the film is completely wrong for Dev. Who is to decide that Dev is right and Beera is wrong? What is right and what is wrong and who are we to judge?”

Talking of their relationship as a "married couple" a question arose about their credibility and chemistry on screen specially since in Raavan, the roles are adversarial. Aishwarya responded: “We all work together as a team to commit and to deliver. We are creating cinema. At that point, its not about personal equations, or what kind of relationship you share outside the set. We are all actors, we are all committed to the craft. That’s what it is all about. Abhishek joked, “I am not chasing her in the film, I have already kidnapped her.”

On differences between Hindi and Tamil versions, Ratnam said, “the idea was to make people see both versions and compare…essentially the same film but I do not believe in imposing that this is how a scene should be done, in terms of content and spirit, its the same.” Which has indeed come through in both the versions.

Its not a straightforward story of good triumphing over evil, there are wheels within wheels, and one needs to really think as to what is happening in today’s world – the dances and the costumes (Sabyas Achi) and the music (A.R. Rahman) notwithstanding. Some of the scenes where gruesomely symbolic (cutting off a coward’s hand) or shooting a defenseless man point blank. One wondered who was the torturer: the tribal or the cop?
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[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, reviews books and films for media based in New York; Toronto, Canada; Seoul, Republic of Korea; and India. He can be reached at raj.rangarajan@gmail.com]