New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS): From mother goddess sculptures created over two thousand years ago to Indian Modernism and todays contemporary art, Saffronarts upcoming online auction traces the development of Indian art through 121 works.
"From Classical to Contemporary" will be held on saffronart.com on December?6 and 7?, with viewings in London, New Delhi and Mumbai.
The auction catalogue opens with two early terracotta figurines of mother goddesses from Uttar Pradesh. Dated circa 100 BCE - 200 CE, these intricately modelled figurines point to the widespread practice of worshipping fertility goddesses at the time.
Other highlights from the Classical Art section include a circa 8th/9th century schist of Lakshmi Narayana from Rajasthan, an exquisitely carved 10th/11th century phyllite sculpture from West Bengal showing Vishnu with his retinue and a circa 10th century sculpture from Bihar depicting the eight miraculous events in the life of Buddha.
"This section not only highlights the skilled process of creating sculptures out of stone, but offers insight into religious iconography and patronage," Saffronart said in a statement.
Saffronart is also offering an exemplary painting by British landscape artist William Daniell for the first time. "Deer in a Wooded Landscape" marks a transition from the Classical art section, and is a stunning example of the academic realist painting tradition which prevailed in England at the time.
Daniell's idyllic forest scene was most likely painted between 1827 and 1830 after his return to England from India, when he began focussing on the scenery around Windsor and Eton. Daniell's art influenced and served as a model for Indian artists in the 18th and 19th centuries.
"This sale endeavours to showcase and cross-reference artistic expressions from antiquity to the present day, to connect dots in new ways. By viewing older pieces from a contemporary perspective, we discover their timeless relevance. This sale offers the wonderful possibility of acquiring works that extend the depth of understanding of modern and contemporary art, and classical art that has been historically undervalued," said Saffronart CEO Hugo Weihe.