Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art
Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF GUNNAR AND INGER HANSEN
Auction Closed
September 29, 03:32 PM GMT
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF GUNNAR AND INGER HANSEN
PIRAJI SAGARA
1931 - 2014
LINGAM II
Mixed media on wood
Signed indistinctly ‘P. C. Sagara’ upper left and further signed, dated and inscribed ’PIRAJI SAGARA / AHMEDABAD/ INDIA / 1970’ on reverse
66 x 91 cm. (26 x 35 ¾ in.)
Executed in 1970
Acquired from Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay, 1970
Thence by descent
Piraji Sagara was born in 1931 in Ahmedabad. His family hailed from Rajasthan’s Sagara community, known for their skill in cutting and shaping objects out of wood. He trained at the Sir J.J. School of Art, Bombay, and taught at the School of Architecture in Ahmedabad, on the invitation of architect B. V. Doshi. Sagara’s work has been exhibited in Europe, Japan and India, and at the 1971 Sao Paulo Biennale. Throughout his career, Sagara’s artistic practice has remained tied to the woodwork of his forebears. His initial experiments with ornamental scrap, metal and wood developed into his distinctive ‘wood collages’. These works have served to raise the craft traditions of his ancestors to the level of high art. The current lot, an expert amalgam of a variety of materials, is a richly sculptural work, which brilliantly showcases Sagara’s accomplished mastery of his craft.