City’s heritage to go under the hammer abroad, again
Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 6
While the birth anniversary of Le Corbusier falls today, heritage furniture designed by him and Pierre Jeanneret has once again been put up for auction abroad. Sources said two famous auction houses had put up heritage furniture, estimated to be worth Rs 3.71 crore, for auction in the USA and London. While auction house Phillips has put three items for sale on October 17, another auction house Wright will auction 17 items on October 24.
A rare demountable “minister’s desk”, designed for the High Court and the Secretariat by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, is being put under the hammer at a reserve price of Rs 61 lakh. Other items which will be put up for auction include an exceptional sofa procured from an administrative building of Chandigarh, a pair of low chairs, designed for the High Court and PU student residences, a low sofa, designed for the High Court, a demountable easy chair, designed for the architect’s own house in Chandigarh, lounge chairs from Punjab Engineering College, office cane chairs, a dining table from the Cafeteria at Panjab University, a file rack, a bench from MLA flats, Chandigarh, a rare cross-arm office chair and a committee armchair from the High Court.
Besides, a set of eight chairs from Chandigarh, a folding screen, a bench from the High Court, rare easy armchairs and lounge chairs from Chandigarh are also on the auction list.
Ajay Jagga, a member of the heritage protection cell, Chandigarh, said the real tribute to Le Corbusier would be to bring back his entire heritage from abroad.
There has been a spate of auctions of heritage furniture from the city at foreign auction houses in the recent past. Most of these items were sold as scrap in Chandigarh, but auction houses the world over are making millions out of these.
