1. Copal
The Leading Authority on Indian Art
Weekly Collector Issue: I
March 2011
Newsletter for Art Collectors & Aficionados

2. Thought for the week:
“There is neither this world nor the world beyond nor happiness for the one who doubts”
~Bhagwat Gita
UNION BUDGET OF INDIA 2011: ART UPBEAT
– Bolstering the morale of the country's institutional arts promoters, objects of arts and
antiquities of foreign origin brought to the country by government art institutions (for exhibition)
will be kept out of import duties to enrich the country's arts education and awareness scenario.
– Works of art and antiquities are exempt from customs duties when imported for exhibition in a
public museum or national institutions.
– In recent years, many organisations have joined the cause of promoting and popularising both
traditional and contemporary art. Some of them have been active in locating heritage works of
Indian origin in foreign countries and bringing them back home. The exemption from custom
duties will give confidence to promoters of such initiatives henceforth.
– In the central allocation plan for culture, the government has earmarked USD 33,815, 576 (INR
152 crore) for the Archaeological Survey of India and USD 15,572,962 (INR 70 crore) for the
birth anniversary celebrations of Tagore (INR 50 crore) and seer Vivekananda (INR 20 crore).
– The government has allocated USD 174, 639, 652(INR 785 crore) under the plan head and USD
123, 026, 405 (INR 553 crore) under non-plan head for art and culture, taking the total outlay to
USD 297, 666, 057 (INR 1,338 crore).
* Copal Comments on the Budget have featured in a story done by IANS dated March 1 excerpts
of which are highlighted in the 'Copal in News' section of the newsletter.

3. LARGEST KNOWN MUGHAL PAINTING TO BE AUCTIONED
Emperor Jehangir
A life- size portrait of Mughal emperor Jehangir will go under the hammer at the Bonhams auction
house of London on April 5, 2011 and the lowest bid will start from USD 1,624,037 (INR 7.3
crore).
The Mughal Empire was a dominant power in the Indian sub continent between the mid-16th
century and the early 18th century. Founded in 1526, it officially survived until 1858, when it was
supplanted by the British rule. Jehangir who ruled India from 1605 to 1627 was a very artistic
monarch and a great appreciator and critic of art.
The work painted in the style of a European portrait of the early 1600s, is attributed to the
contemporary artist, Abul Hasan, who belonged to Delhi(India) and was better known as Nadir al-
Zaman, or ' Wonder of the Age'. It was the emperor who had bestowed this grandiose title on his
favourite painter. Abul Hasan's main task was to document events at the imperial court and this
resulted in many striking portraits, like the one being auctioned.
The painting shows Jehangir seated on a gilded throne holding a globe, and wearing elaborate
robes and jewellery.
Copal Comments: This is the largest and one of the rarest 17th- century paintings ever to come to
an auction. Many such old Indian artefacts have been auctioned before like Tipu Sultan's sword
that fetched USD 814,402 in April 2010 and Maharaja Duleep Singh's bust that went for USD
2,892, 121in April 2007. It is not only stimulating to see great works by artists belonging to India
feature in prominent auction houses but such instances are a beginning of what shall be a defining
moment in the history of art and heritage: Resurgence of Indian art.
Source: Copal, Mail Today

4. SJMA PRESENTS LANDMARK EXHIBITION OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY
ART FROM INDIA
The San Jose Museum of Art presents a landmark exhibition of modern and contemporary art from
India that started on February 25 and will be on display till September 4, 2011. It has been tiled
“Roots in the Air, Branches Below: Modern and Contemporary Art from India” and is drawn
entirely from eleven private collections in the San Francisco Bay Area. The exhibition showcases
important works of modern and contemporary South Asian art that are rarely seen on the West
Coast.
Untitled' by Tyeb Mehta
“Indian art is a dynamic and fast-growing presence on the international art scene, yet it is still
rarely explored in museums in this country”
~Susan Krane, Oshman Executive Director at SJMA.
“The dramatic economic and social transformation of India since 1947, when it gained
independence from British rule, has bred a similar explosion of activity in the visual arts. These
artists embrace both the international art world (with its penchant for artistic innovation) and the
spiritual roots of Indian art. They draw on a multifaceted artistic heritage of political engagement,
popular culture, classical mythology, and folk traditions.”
~Kristen Evangelista, curator at SJMA
The exhibition includes more than thirty paintings, as well as approximately ten drawings and
watercolours and seven sculptures.
Modern artists whose works are included in the exhibition are one of Copal Recommended M F
Husain, Tyeb Mehta, S H Raza(who are renowned modernists belonging to the Indian progressive
artists group), , Ganesh Pyne, Jamini Roy, Krishen Khanna, Manjit Bawa, Ram Kumar and V S
Gaitonde. Other moderns featuring are F N Souza, Jagdish Swaminathan, Jehangir Sabavala,
K.G. Subramanyan and Madhvi Parekh.

5. AWARD IN MEMORY OF RABINDRANATH TAGORE
The government of India will institute a new international award in memory of Nobel laureate
Rabindranath Tagore, whose 150th Birth Anniversary is on May 7, 2011.
The award carrying a purse of USD 222,470 (INR 1 crore) will be awarded for exemplary
contribution to promotion of world peace, brotherhood, amity and cultural harmony. Such initiatives
proposed to perpetuate the legacy of the literary icon, will be a joint exercise between India and
Bangladesh under the aegis of the India-Bangladesh Celebrations Committee. In the central
allocation plan for culture in 2011-2012, the government has earmarked USD 15,572,962 (INR 70
crore) for the birth anniversary celebrations of Tagore.
Source: Copal, Economic Times
OGLETHORPE WELCOMES INDIAN ART
Oglethorpe University Museum of Arts in Atlanta has unveiled an original exhibit from India on
March 1, 2011. Donald Rubin, an alumnus of Oglethorpe, presents the full collection named
“Goddess, Lion, Peasant, Priest: Modern and Contemporary Indian Art,” which debuts with more
than 50 works from 28 of India's artists. Francis Newton Souza, Sakti Burman and Seema Kohli,
along with many others, will be featured.
Donald and Shelley Rubin are avid collectors of Himalayan art and wanted to display the diverse
styles and concepts of Indian life. This collection consists of modern art that is meant to focus on the
figural in modern Indian art. Modern artists in India painted abstract works, landscapes, cityscapes
and other subjects, but the Rubins see in the figural work from the last 60 years something that speaks
to the common humanity while showing the particular struggles and joys found in India.
This exhibit strives to open observer's eyes to the fact that modern art exists not only in Europe and
North America but around the globe.
Oglethorpe's museum is open Tuesday to Sunday noon to 5 p.m. and general admission is USD 5. To
kick off the exhibition's premiere, the Taste of India Gala, will be held March 12 at 7 p.m. in
Oglethorpe's Museum of Art.
Source: Elise Colcord, Neighbour Newspapers Atlanta

6. RAZA IN NEWS
A full page story on SH Raza as appeared in 'Times of India' dated February 26, 2011 by Yashodhara
Dalmia.
After six long decades in France, SH Raza, one of India's oldest and most celebrated painters, has
returned to the country of his birth. Raza and Husain are the only two surviving members of the
Progressive Artists Group that was set up in a newly independent India by a group of young artists to
explore and encourage a modern Indian artistic style. The Progressives continue to be India's
bestselling artists, none more so than the 88-year-old Raza who's Saurashtra, a magnificent seven-
foot painting in terracotta hues, holds the record for the most expensive modern Indian artwork at
USD 3,559, 534 (INR 16 crore) in a Christie's auction in 2010.
Source: Excerpts from the article
COLLECTING BEYOND ART
A recent article by Kishore Singh as appeared in 'Business Standard' dated February 23, 2011
highlights the untapped market of Antiquities.
If there is one area where Indians would indulge in for something that is old, it would be Antiquities,
but this is also an area that is currently fraught with uncertainties. Clarity in the field of antiques is
difficult to come by and in the absence of proper paperwork, the segment is hugely undervalued.
There is a strong reason to monitor such trade as it deals with our heritage. But mostly people remain
wary of government legislation, suspicious of the need to register their treasures, unsure of how to go
about it, unclear about what makes an antique, and prefer status-quo to the apprehension of getting
wedged in bureaucratic red-tape.

7. Copal Comments: It is a well observed vogue that antiquities are an opportune collectible and is
aspired largely by sophisticated collectors. Its scope has been mounting with awareness and savour,
but if the concerned authorities could effectively legislate and have a transparent set of guidelines,
then the opportunity of seeing antiques as a major collectible through legalised platforms and
structure, will create more collectors for India and will eventually benefit the cultural prospects of
the nation. Finally, Heritage is one thing that belongs entirely to a nation and it is the nation's
obligation to never let it fade.
Source: Copal, Excerpts from the article
INGRESS FOR THE VISUALLY-IMPAIRED
The National Museum in Delhi has put in place, a system to enable visually-impaired people to walk
through and appreciate art becoming the first museum in India to provide such accessibility to the
visually challenged.
– The Museum has installed monograms, signs and Braille inscriptions to make the objects blind-
friendly. Though the visually-impaired visited the museum earlier, they had to take the help of the
guides and could only listen to the narrations. Now they can feel and learn by touching the objects.
– Besides, the main passages, ramps and galleries have been reworked to be made barrier-free.
Likewise, the necessary modifications have also been made to accommodate mentally challenged
people.
– This highly focused system will be extended to other marginalised sections like spastics and street
children.
– As part of the art education programme for marginalised children, the museum is organising a
'tactile exhibition' for the visually impaired next month.
Copal Comments: It is truly an enriching and ennobling initiative taken up by the Museum and this
will surely guide the fraternity and the physically and mentally frail towards an improved outlook of
feeling art. We wish the best for such initiatives and hope to see more such endeavours to elevate the
standards of art display in India because to appreciate art, one must understand it, and to
understand art, one must feel it.
Source: Copal, National Museum

8. COPAL IN NEWS
Ajay Seth's (Chief Mentor, Copal) views have been featured in a story done by IANS dated
March 1, 2011 on the budget allocation for Art in India.
Budget Fees Art From Customs Shackles
India's art fraternity Monday gave a go ahead to the budget for 2011-12, saying it would free
imported art and antiquities from the shackles of customs duties and help bring more works from
abroad to the country. Culture Minister Kumari Selja also hailed the move.
Excerpts from the story featuring Ajay Seth's comments on the Budget:
'It is a very good move not only for the community of private promoters, but also for the country's
artistic heritage. We encountered several procedural and economic difficulties in importing national
heritage art located abroad to India,' Ajay Seth, of Copal Art, a leading art promotion platform, told
IANS.
'The move will help bring heritage back to the country and also encourage display of good foreign
art in India,' said Seth.
'Several of Tagore's important art works are located abroad and the removal of customs duty from
imported art and antiquities for display will make it easy for us to buy some of his art and bring them
back to India for a major exhibition,' Seth said.
However, Seth said he was 'disappointed' over the outlay of Rs.785 crore (under the plan head) for
culture in the budget, a marginal increase from Rs.735 crore in 2010-2011.

9. COPAL COLLECTOR'S COLUMN
Being the first issue of Copal Newsletter for the month of March, this features a column dedicated to
acknowledge views of Copal Collectors & Associates. It aims to highlight the outlook of Collectors
on Art, Indian Art, its valuation, aesthetics and other significant aspects pertaining to Art. This
endeavour is to encourage exchange of ideas on Art and to promote familiarity and awareness on the
same.
This week, an associate of Copal who has a personal collection of over 50 artworks from across the
world shares his journey with Art hitherto.
I do not remember precisely, I think I was 12 when I first saw my mother bringing in a huge canvas
by Manjit Bawa and hung it on the void wall in our living area. It was an amusing show for a onetime
spectacle, but as we began living with the mythological scenes depicted in the painting, I observed a
trace of Sufi spirituality, the tranquil scenes of peace, the flute-playing Krishna and the cattle, the
naive depiction of love and worship. I asked my mother “Why people fly in Bawa's paintings”? She
light-heartedly replied “That's because it is only in art that they free themselves; that they fly”. Art
to me thereafter became a covert feeling that is experienced by those who really (exaggeration on
purpose) believe in what they collect and live with.
Few words from my mother's personal memoir:
'I have prayed all my life for the strength to unravel my soul and secede from within. God instead
gave me Art'
(Collector wishes not be named)
To share your ideas for the column, write to us at sagunaahluwalia@copalart.com or call us at 011-
40647046-52.

10. EVENTS
Celebrating the Essence of Monochrome
In his musings on the worlds of black and white, Nandan Purkayastha weaves a theatrical play of
strokes and elemental characters through deployment of his pen.
National Gallery of Modern Arts, India Gate, Delhi
Date: March 7 - April 2, 2011 Time: 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Solo Show
Chronicles of a Past Life (photographs of Bombay from 1976 -1983) by award winning
photographer Pablo Bartholomew.
Sakshi Gallery, Colaba, Mumbai
Date: On till March 07, 2011 Time: 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Jaya Utsav: Sacred Geography and Aesthetic Expressions
This exhibition is a must-watch!
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Janpath, Delhi
Date: On till March 10, 2011 Time: 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM

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Special Contributions by: Ashok Vajpeyi, Ajay Seth, Devesh Garg
Editor: Saguna Ahluwalia
Contributing Editors: Mithila Kapoor, Nikhil Khandelwal, Ricky Seth, Sahitya Prakash, Sharan
Seth, Swati Sharma, Mahendra Nayar
Coordinator: Sanjiv Choube
Copal Art P. Ltd. 1112, DLF Tower B, Jasola District Centre, Mathura Road, New Delhi – 110
025 (India)
Phone: 011- 40647045- 52. Email: contact@copalart.com, office@copalart.com. Website:
www.copalart.com