18-07-2025
Despite UT member's alert, 2 sets of Chandigarh's heritage furniture auctioned for Rs 18.56 lakh in US
Two sets of heritage furniture designed by Swiss architect Pierre Jeanneret, part of Chandigarh's protected architectural legacy, were auctioned in the US for Rs 18.56 lakh.
According to Ajay Jagga, member of the Chandigarh Administration's Heritage Items Protection Cell, the auction took place on July 17 at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA). The items included a desk-chair set, a file rack, and a pair of nightstands. These pieces were originally listed with a reserve price of Rs 29.23 lakh, but two of the three items were sold for less.
Jagga revealed that despite advance warnings, the Indian Embassy in San Francisco did not act to halt the sale.
'The Indian Embassy must at least raise an alarm to save the heritage. The MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) has banned the movement of these articles of Chandigarh, in 2011 and as such, these all, appears to have been smuggled out of India,' Jagga said.
He further added that the ongoing auctions can be stopped only through diplomatic channels and brought back, as they were taken out in an illegal manner.
'We must seek protection of our heritage, in accordance with the rules/protocol, for which we must raise alarm. We must seek, as to how these items reach auction houses in the US, where are the original documents, bills, proof of transportation from India to the US,' Jagga further said.
He reiterated that such auctions can only be stopped and reversed through diplomatic intervention, urging the central government to step in and initiate efforts to reclaim the heritage assets.
