Georgina Adam points out in her Financial Times column that the recent Sotheby’s sale of Indian Modern and Contemporary art rewarded collectors (seven of the top ten lots were sold to private buyers) and the expense of art funds:

The Indian market was massively speculative in 2007, with a plethora of art funds being created. “Most of these funds have now been put on hold,” says Randall Willette of Fine Art Wealth Management, a consultancy specialising in art and art funds.

The fall-out of this speculation was evident in London last Tuesday, when Sotheby’s put back on the block a large group of Indian works bought last year. Many had been acquired in Sotheby’s sales of modern and contemporary south-east Asian art in March and September 2008 in New York. Trade sources indicate that they were bought for an art fund but never paid for, so Sotheby’s ended up owning the works; 27 of the 86 lots in the London sale came from this source.

Art Market: Picasso Endures (Financial Times)