Osian's Connoisseurs of Art's first live Vintage and Classic Automobile Auction was a major step forward in breaking free from the cash economy mindset associated thus far with the sale and purchase of historic vehicles.
India's first live automobile auction turned out to be as exciting as what industry experts had been predicting, with enthusiasts and several first time buyers of historic vehicles warming up to idea of openly buying and selling automobiles to improve or start a collection, though final sales were slightly below expectations.
The cars were consigned from across the country, with collectors from Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune sending their cars for the auction in Delhi.
Prominent collectors such as Diljeet Titus, Zaheer Vakil, Rishad Kundanmal, Partha Banik, Naveen K, Zain Bilgrami, Bhavesh Solanki... had all contributed to the impressive line-up. Many of them were present at the landmark auction, India’s first live event.
The freshly restored and award winning car – a 1933 Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP – was the top seller at the auction fetching a handsome price of INR 1.92 Cr (120% of its Lower Estimated catalogue price).
This Rolls-Royce was once owned by Viscount Southwood and the owner of Glenlivet – John Martin. In total, the Automobile Sale raised INR 4.50 Crores & INR 12.84 Crores for the Modern Fine Art Sale.
Full prices are available on the Osians website. Even though certain lots did not sell as expected, the more than full house teeming with art collectors and historic vehicle enthusiasts indicated that this auction will prove to be a game changer for the Historic Vehicles market that is still in its infant stages.
The Indian Modern Fine Arts auction that followed was received well by the market and could have done even better without the distractions caused by defamatory statements made in the press prior to the preview.
Total Sales registered a 58% success for Lots sold. Artworks by Ganesh Pyne, Ramkumar, NS Bendre, J Swaminathan and Satish Gujral, Chittaprosad all performed well as per market expectations with the FN Souza, J Sabavala, MF Husain prices performing below market expectations.