Magazine rack by Pierre Jeanneret sold for Rs 66 lakh

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 9

Heritage furniture of the city continues to be auctioned in foreign countries. The latest item that was sold at a whopping price of Rs 66 lakh in the US is a teak and aluminum periodicals rack designed by Pierre Jeanneret. The rack was designed for the Panjab University library but it found its way to the US like other furniture sold as scrap.

The auction of the rack was held by the Modern Design auction house at Bonhams, New York, on Saturday.

Ajay Jagga, an advocate, who has been raising the issue to stop such auctions in foreign countries, has said this is the highest price fetched by a single item recently. The auction house claims that the utilitarian piece was made around 1961-62. Besides, the auction house has also put on the sale more than 35 original furnishings, all designed by Pierre Jeanneret. These lots include tables and chairs, a day bed, desk, stools, a divider screen. All these pieces have been saved from ruin by a local collector.

The website of the auction house mentions that the rack came from a social experiment called Chandigarh that became a milestone in the history of modern design. The story began with the partition of India in 1947. A new institution was needed and then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wanted the new complex to reflect the Western world. The great Modernist architect Le Corbusier supervised the construction of the 15-year project, and his cousin, Jeanneret, designed furnishings.

Today, collectors prize original furniture by Jeanneret for its clean lines and balanced design.