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Classical Indian Art Consignment
Sotheby’s pioneered the field of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian art, establishing the first dedicated department in this category in New York in 1985, more than a decade before our competitors. Over the past thirty-five years our department has discovered and brought hitherto unknown masterpieces to the market and achieved world-record prices for the same, establishing a reputation for unparalleled expertise, experience and scholarship in this field.
Our specialists handle works ranging in date from the first century BCE to the 19th-Century heyday of the British Raj. The cultures and continents covered in our sales represent a wide geographic swathe including Afghanistan, Indonesia, Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Sotheby’s seasoned team of experts, based in New York, works closely with colleagues worldwide to source and sell to a global clientele spread across the US, Europe, Middle East, India, China, Southeast Asia and Australia.
Renowned single-owner collections of Indian Paintings offered by the department include paintings from the collections of Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck, Bachofen von Echt, Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck, Paul F. Walter, The British Rail Pension Fund, and Property from the Estates of Stuart Cary Welch, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and Dr. Claus Virch. Prestigious museum deaccessions of Indian and Southeast Asian sculpture handled by our department include works from the collections of the Albright Knox Art Gallery and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Record-making Himalayan Art sales include the Jucker Collection of Himalayan Paintings and the Richard and Magdalena Ernst Collection of Himalayan Art.
We offer premier auctions, exhibitions and private sales to sell Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian art. Consign a painting, drawing, stone sculpture, bronze or gilt-bronze figure, book cover, paubha, pata or thangka. When you are ready to sell Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian art, Sotheby’s can help you realize the highest price. Simply submit images and information about your artwork through our easy-to-use online estimate platform to receive your complimentary evaluation.
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Submit photos and information about your contemporary art from Afghanistan, Indonesia, Mongolia, Tibet, Sri Lanka, and Nepal and begin your complimentary estimate request.
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Classical Indian Art Consigned with Sotheby's
Avalokiteshvara and The Divine Fusion of Style
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Frequently Asked Questions
- When is the best time to sell Indian and Southeast Asian Art?Sotheby's Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian art auctions are held in New York City every March and September, alongside Asiaweek New York. This international consortium which includes galleries, auction houses and museums is one of the strongest platforms worldwide showcasing Asian Art. Our sales featured alongside this platform attract collectors, academics, museum curators and new buyers from New York and around the world. When you are ready to sell an antique painting, illustration, bronze figure or sculpture within the genre of Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian art, Sotheby’s can help you realize the highest price.
- Why is art from India and South Asia highly collectible?Classical ancient and antique art from India, the Himalayan region and Southeast Asia continues to be coveted by curators and collectors because these one-of-a kind pieces offer a rare glimpse into the complex artistic traditions and high intellectual achievements made by some of these leading world cultures in historical times. Sotheby’s helped establish the Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian market by hosting the first-ever standalone international auction in this category in 1985 alongside the seminal Festival of India, a cultural initiative aimed at presenting the glorious history and traditions of the South Asian subcontinent to international audiences in Europe and the United States. Since then the department has hosted groundbreaking sales of Indian paintings and sculpture, Southeast Asian works of art, and Himalayan paintings and works of art from renowned private and institutional collections.
- How is Sotheby's committed to Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art?Classical Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian paintings, sculptures, bronze and gilt bronze figures and premodern objet d’art from this region are in strong demand globally. Over the past three decades Sotheby’s has distinguished itself through both the strength of our scholarship and the depth of our relationships built globally in this collecting category. Whether it be eminent collections of Indian Paintings such as the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck collection, The British Rail Pension Fund collection, and Property from the Estate of Stuart Cary Welch; prestigious museum deaccessions of Indian and Southeast Asian sculpture such as works from the collections of the Albright Knox Art Gallery and the Cleveland Museum of Art or record-making Himalayan Art sales such as the Jucker Collection of Himalayan Paintings and the Richard and Magdalena Ernst Collection of Himalayan Art, Sotheby’s expertise is second to none, as is our deep commitment to the category over the past thirty-five years of sales, more than any other competitor.
More information on how to sell with Sotheby's
Sotheby’s is your best resource to buy and sell classical Indian art, Himalayan art, and Southeast Asian art from the1st Century through the 19th Century, such as an ancient or antique watercolour, illustration, sculpture, bronze figure, gilt-bronze figure, sandstone figure, head or torso, manuscript cover, book cover, paubha or thangka from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tibet, Indonesia and beyond.