Incarnadine, a remarkable 1960 painting by Jehangir Sabavala leads Saffronart’s Winter Online Auction on 17 – 18 December 2024

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India:

• The catalogue includes 135 lots by prominent modern and contemporary Indian artists and sculptors including M F Husain, Arpita Singh, Manjit Bawa, K K Hebbar, F N Souza, Ram Kumar, Bharti Kher, and Himmat Shah.
• Select lots can be viewed prior to the sale at the Mumbai and New Delhi galleries from 4 – 18 December 2024.

​Saffronart is pleased to announce its Winter Online Auction on 17 – 18 December, with an impressive catalogue of 135 lots by leading modern and contemporary Indian artists and sculptors such as Jehangir Sabavala, M F Husain, Arpita Singh, Manjit Bawa, K K Hebbar, F N Souza, Ram Kumar, Bharti Kher, and Himmat Shah, with many lots from important private collections. The auction is preceded by viewings at the Saffronart galleries in Mumbai and New Delhi.

Leading the sale is Incarnadine, 1960 (lot 24, estimate: USD 375,000 – 550,000, INR 3.15 – 4.62 crores) by Jehangir Sabavala, painted during a transformative phase early in the artist’s career when he began adapting Cubist techniques to suit his own unique artistic vision. Using angular, interlocking planes emphasised by bold black outlines, he creates a striking image of a ship adrift at sea, encircled by a flock of birds. The textured surface, rendered in rich shades of red, gives the work its evocative title— Incarnadine, a word used to describe the deep red of raw flesh. The result is a dynamic composition that masterfully balances motion and stillness.

Dinesh Vazirani, Saffronart CEO and Co-Founder said, “We look forward to closing a successful year at Saffronart with our Winter Online Auction. The catalogue is a carefully curated selection of the best of modern and contemporary Indian art and sculpture and offers a wide range of works for both first- time and seasoned collectors. Leading the sale is Incarnadine, a remarkable 1960 painting by Jehangir  Sabavala. Rendered in a rare, vibrant red palette, this work marks a pivotal moment in Sabavala’s career as he refined his artistic focus, adapting Cubist principles to develop his distinctive painterly style that sets him apart from his contemporaries. Other highlights include works by M F Husain showcasing some of his most celebrated themes; a reflective 1995 painting by Arpita Singh—one of India’s pioneering women artists—exploring the intricacies of female identity; and an early work by Ram Kumar from his ‘Grey Period’ which followed a transformative visit to Banaras; alongside works by F N Souza, K K Hebbar, Bharti Kher, Anjolie Ela Menon, and National Treasure Artists Jamini Roy and Nicholas Roerich.”

Also included in the sale are works by M F Husain, who remained attuned to rural Indian life and the country’s rich artistic and cultural heritage throughout his career. Untitled, 2002 (lot 90, estimate: USD 500,000 – 700,000, INR 4.20 – 5.88 crores) echoes his seminal 1960 canvas, Farmer’s Family. The painting features a pastoral couple who display an innate resilience and rootedness to the land. These qualities are further elevated by symbols that draw from myth and reality. A pair of bullocks signal hard work and perseverance, the Hindu god Hanuman stands for strength and loyalty, and fertility and abundance is represented by the harvest that the woman bears.

In Untitled, circa 1960s (lot 13, estimate: INR 90 lakhs – 1.20 crores, USD 107,145 – 142,860), Husain’s lifelong muse, the horse, is rendered as if caught in motion, with a vitality imposed upon the artist on his encounter with the works of Chinese artist Xu Beihong during the 1950s. The painting is of exceptional provenance, having been part of the private collection of Dr Rafiq and Fatma Zakaria who developed a personal relationship with the artist. Dr Zakaria, a noted political leader, scholar, and writer, and Fatma Zakaria, a journalist and Padma Shri award-winning educator, acquired the painting around 1968.

A Woman With Another Woman, 1995, and Untitled, 1995 (lot 42, estimate: USD 250,000 – 350,000, INR 2.10 – 2.94 crores) are a set of two works by Arpita Singh, who is celebrated for her unmistakable style that intermingles the personal and political, fantasy and reality. The works suggest an ambiguous, likely maternal, relationship between a middle-aged woman and a younger doll-sized figure and delve into the complexities of women’s private lives and the societal forces that shape them. Untitled, 2000 (lot 81, estimate: USD 200,000 – 300,000, INR 1.68 – 2.52 crores) by Manjit Bawa, is a delicate work with the artist’s trademark minimalist compositions and fluid forms. Like in this work, his painting frequently incorporated animals like goats, bulls, and birds into his art owing to his fascination with nature. Untitled, 1976 (lot 75, estimate: INR 1.50 – 2 crores, USD 178,575 – 238,100) by K K Hebbar is a fine example of the influence of his childhood village and rural life on his art. His empathy for the common man is palpable in the lyricism with which he renders his subjects, highlighting the sensitivity and strength of his line.

In Garden City, 1969 (lot 26, estimate: USD 100,000 – 150,000, INR 84 lakhs – 1.26 crores), F N Souza’s bold application of thick layers of paint with powerful strokes creates a vivid scene of destruction and chaos. This work is a potent vision of doom from a time when the looming threat of nuclear destruction became a persistent theme in the artist’s works.

Hide Here, 2014 (lot 114, estimate: USD 80,000 – 100,000, INR 67.20 – 84 lakhs), by Bharti Kher, features her signature material, the bindi, arranged across a shattered mirror, creating dynamic patterns in the manner of a great cosmic supernova. Landscape, 1962 (lot 72, estimate: INR 60 – 80 lakhs, USD 71,430 – 95,240) by Ram Kumar marks a pivotal moment in his oeuvre as he moved from figuration to abstraction to portray cityscapes and landscapes that would come to define his career. The present work exemplifies the austere phase of the early 1960s, characterised by Kumar’s use of thick impasto and a predominantly monochromatic palette that give his works a sense of quiet introspection.

Rounding off the sale is Radha and Krishna With Gopinis, late 19th century (lot 5, estimate: INR 25 – 35 lakhs, USD 29,765 – 41,670), a work from the Early Bengal School, which drew inspiration from Indian religion and mythology. Divine, mythological, and epic subjects were given a new realism through the adoption of the style and technique of Western oil painting, which created the illusion of real space and naturalistic light and shade.
The auction will take place on the Saffronart website and will be preceded by viewings of select lots in Mumbai and New Delhi. All lots have been published in the printed catalogue and e- catalogue and can be viewed on saffronart.com.
AUCTION DATES
Winter Online Auction I 17 – 18 December 2024 on saffronart.com
VIEWINGS
MUMBAI                                                                                                            VENUE
4 December – 18 December 2024                                                              Industry Manor, Ground Floor
11 am – 7 pm, Monday to Saturday                                                            Appasaheb Marathe Marg
Sunday (by appointment only)                                                                    Prabhadevi, Mumbai 400025
To make an appointment, please contact +91 22 6855 4100 or email us at auction@saffronart.com
NEW DELHI                                                                                                        VENUE
4 December – 18 December 2024                                                                   The Oberoi
11 am – 7 pm, Monday to Saturday                                                                 Dr Zakir Hussain Marg
Sunday (by appointment only)                                                                         New Delhi 110003
To make an appointment, please contact +91 11 24369415 or email us at auction@saffronart.com