Five historic Chandigarh objects are set to be auctioned in Luxembourg

On March 24, five pieces of the city’s historic furniture—with an estimated auction value of Rs 37.80 lakh—will be put up for bid in Luxembourg, Europe.

The pieces, which were created by Pierre Jeanneret, consist of a tiny desk, a writing chair, a low rectangular stool, two easy armchairs, and two office cane chairs. At Rs 14.40 lakh, the pair of easy armchairs is the most expensive item.

Ajay Jagga, a member of the Chandigarh Administration’s Heritage Items Protection Cell, wrote a letter to Union Minister for Culture G Kishanreddy and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stating that, despite the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) 2011 ban on the export of Indian heritage items, foreign auction houses continue to sell them for a hefty profit.

In the US, Europe, and the UK, Pierre Jeanneret’s furniture is highly sought-after and in high demand.

“The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) claims the Chandigarh products are not antiquities, despite the fact that they have placed a soft restriction on their transportation outside of India at all airports and seaports. There is now a statute in place to govern the export trade in antiquities and art treasures. But it’s noted that these items are unmistakably protected by the Act’s Section 2(b) term of “art treasure,” he said.

Therefore, it is necessary to investigate if the export prohibition would be enforced by designating historic objects from Chandigarh as works of art.

Even though historic objects have been smuggled for over 15 years, offices such as Punjab and Haryana High Court, PGI, and Panjab University must now own antiques valued at over Rs 1,000 crore.