After Luxembourg, Milan withdraws Chandigarh’s heritage furniture from auction website

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 23

First Luxembourg, now Italy. For the second time in 11 years, within a time passage of less than a week, another European auction house has retracted UT’s heritage furniture from its website just hours before the auction.

The website www.visconteacasadaste.com has retracted item number 45, a pair of Jeanneret-designed kangaroo chairs, which were to go under the hammer for an estimated price range between Rs5.62 lakh and Rs7.79 lakh in Milan on September 22.

Four days ago, a website – www.luxauction.com – withdrew six items identified as heritage furniture of Chandigarh and designed by Pierre Jeanneret. Priced between Rs52.55 lakh and Rs64.71 lakh, these items were to be auctioned in Luxembourg on September 18.

On both occasions, a member of UT’s heritage panel had sent emails to the culture ministries of Luxembourg and Italy, red-flagging the auction of city’s heritage by citing an MHA order which bans its export.

In the letters, he also demanded the return of city’s cultural heritage to its rightful owner.

He appealed to the ministries for investigating into the procurement of Jeanneret-designed furniture by the auction house on the basis of sale and custom-clearance invoice and visa details of buyers.

In his representation to Italy’s culture minister Dario Franceschini, Ajay Jagga, member of the UT’s Heritage Items Protection Cell, stated that he had also sent a communication about the auction to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Belgium.

“Considering that United Nations is also supporting the countries on the issue of cultural trafficking,” Jagga wrote.

He had also addressed the communication to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Dr Neena Malhotra, India’s Ambassador to Italy, on September 20.

The auctioning of city’s heritage items and then their retraction after the interference of government and diplomatic channels have raised critical concern over the issue of trafficking cultural objects. However, it is not clear whether Italy or Luxembourg are still investigating into the matter.

Thanking Italy’s culture minister for withdrawing the article, Jagga wrote: “On the day of auction, till the end of the day, I observed that Chandigarh’s kangaroo chairs (pair) vide Lot No. 45 was withdrawn with the title RITIRATO (means withdrawal). I must convey my gratitude to Italy, as it appears that the item is withdrawn due to some kind of examination/probe in this matter.”

Not for sale

www.visconteacasadaste.com retracted item No. 45, a pair of Jeanneret-designed kangaroo chairs, which were to go under the hammer for an estimated price range between Rs5.62 lakh and Rs7.79 lakh in Milan on September 22.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.