Heritage furniture of Chandigarh used to be auctioned in countries like Paris, Switzerland, Italy, but now it is going to be auctioned in Luxembourg too.
On January 10, as many as 14 heritage items designed by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret will go under the hammer at Luxembourg. The items are worth Rs 1.75 crore.
On the list of items that will go under the hammer are rare office cane chair designed by Pierre Jeanneret that has its reserve price between 3500 and 4000 Euros while two sets each of office cane chairs designed by Jeanneret are between 2800 and 3000 euros.
However, a voice has also been raised against the auction. Ajay Jagga, a member of the Heritage Protection Cell, has sent a complaint to the Indian Embassy in Luxembourg to stop the auction of the city’s heritage furniture.
“The auction by foreign auction houses of Indian heritage is all-time high, causing a huge loss to nation’s prestige apart from violation of ban and as such it is appealed that our embassy may be alerted and be asked to help in initiating inquiry. UN may also be approached reminding its international commitment to UNESCO to combat trafficking of cultural objects.”
“The representation is filed in accordance with Article 51A of the Constitution of India, which says, ‘It shall be the duty of every citizen of India—(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; (i) to safeguard public property.’ Hence you are requested to look into the matter so that the auction of our smuggled heritage items can be stalled, after ascertaining the facts,” Jagga added.
These furniture belong to Punjab University, UT Secretariat and other places. Earlier, Heritage Furniture of Chandigarh was auctioned in France. The city’s Easy Arm Chair was auctioned for Rs 5.36 lakh.
