16 Chandigarh heritage items sold for Rs 3.93 crore in France auction

Taken out of the country illegally, 16 heritage items from the city were auctioned for nearly Rs 3.93 crore in France on September 18.

The articles included a pair of easy chairs, a periodical bookcase, a demountable desk, a pair of writing desk chairs, a demountable daybed, a bench, a dining table, a storage unit, a set of three stools, a fireside sofa, a pair of fireside armchairs, a sewing stool, a pair of file rack storage units, a coffee table, a pair of advocate armchairs and a committee chair.

Ajay Jagga, a member of the Heritage Items Protection Cell of the Chandigarh Administration, said these furniture items were designed by Swiss architect Pierre Jeanneret — cousin of Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, who planned Chandigarh. He said the bookcase fetched the highest amount of Rs 40.70 lakh at the auction, followed by a set of three stools for Rs 23.08 lakh and the sewing stool for Rs 8.13 lakh.

In a letter to Union Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar and Nathalie Chanvallon, Judicial Police Officer, Paris (France), Jagga has stated that despite previous representations on this matter, including communications with the Ministry of Culture, and some action taken by agencies like the ASI, the Ministry of External Affairs is yet to take sufficient cognisance of this issue.

“Recently, an auction was conducted by an auction house in France, featuring several iconic furniture and heritage items from Chandigarh, designed by Pierre Jeanneret. These items are being sold contrary to the Prime Minister’s vision: “Vikshit Bhi, Virasat Bhi”— modern development alongside protection of heritage,” he said.

“It is evident that these heritage items are being auctioned regularly abroad without adequate intervention by the Government of India,” he said.