Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Patrimony and Auctions, Gandhi Edition

March 5, 2009 by Marion Maneker

The uproar over the Gandhi sale so soon after the Chinese shenanigans with the Zodiac bronzes suggests an a volatile new dynamic abroad. Though the Chinese claim they want the bronzes returned, their actions were more focused on spoiling an auction rather than repatriating the bronzes by any necessary means. The Gandhi reaction seems to follow the same pattern, the idea of offering a sensitive object that represents a nation’s heritage to open bidding offends. Here’s what the owner told The Daily Beast:

To collector James Otis, however, who is selling the items from his collection of thousands of pieces of Gandhi-related memorabilia, the controversy comes as a surprise. “I’m completely shocked,” Otis said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast. “My intent never was to create any sort of anger or animosity towards the auction, it was the opposite: to promote Gandhi’s words, actions, and to promote nonviolence in any way we can.”

Otis, a documentary filmmaker, activist, and avid collector (his Dr. Seuss collection is said to be among the world’s best), said that he had hoped the auction would encourage a renewed discussion of Gandhi’s message. [ . . . ] “Nobody’s contacted me at all,” Otis said. “I have a contract with the auction house to sell these items, but as you know you can make a deal prior the auction. I would be very happy to welcome any serious offers from the Indian government and it might not even have to be financial. There are things they could offer in terms of helping the people of India that I would more than welcome, for example improving health care for the poorest Indians in exchange for the items. I would welcome any ideas like that that would benefit the Indian people. We even set up an email today for offers so they could contact me directly, it’s gandhiitems@gmail.com.”

Meanwhile, Otis appears to be overplaying his hand and moving the target. Here’s what he told The Times:

The general public, meanwhile, are outraged at the prospect of what they regard as sacred pieces of Indian heritage going to the highest bidder.

The seller of the memorabilia, James Otis, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and professed Gandhi follower, remains unapologetic, and confirmed that he had received an offer from the Indian Consulate in New York to buy the items but the offer was too low.

Through media interviews, Otis has told India that the only way to prevent the sale is to spend 5 per cent of its GDP – about $50 billion (£35billion) – on helping the poor.

Time runs out to halt sale of Mahatma Gandhi’s watch and glasses (The Times)

Gandhi’s (Few) Possessions Go Up For Auction in New York (The Daily Beast)

 

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Riding the Rubell's CoattailsRiding the Rubell's Coattails
  • Gerald LaingGerald Laing
  • You Can’t Rely on Connoisseurs to Find a Forgery You Can’t Rely on Connoisseurs to Find a Forgery
  • Attenborough Sells Out for $7.7mAttenborough Sells Out for $7.7m
  • That Flea Market Renoir
  • Doige Trial Opens With Peter Doig on StandDoige Trial Opens With Peter Doig on Stand

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Lost Lempicka Discovered at Sotheby's
  • $10 M. Picasso Portrait Unseen for Decades to Sell at Bonhams
  • Vienna Secession Painting, Long Thought to Be Lost, Sets a Record at Auction
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Collection of Texas Heiress Anne Marion Expected to Fetch $150 M. at Sotheby’s
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Selection Bias In Art Is What Creates Value
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor