New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) Leading Mumbai-based auction house Saffronart logged sales of Rs.290 million ($7.2 million), about 72 percent more than its lowest estimate, during its Autumn Online Auction of Contemporary Indian Art that ended Sunday night. The auction also created price records for 18 Indian artists.

The artists are - T.V. Santhosh, Anju Dodiya, Sudhir Patwardhan, G.R. Iranna, Mithu Sen, Anita Dube, Sudarshan Shetty, Anil Revri, Tushar Joag, Manisha Parekh, Debanjan Roy, Phaneendra Nath Chaturvedi, Kishor Shinde, Chitra Ganesh, Ravikumar Kashi, Ram Bali Chauhan, Mayyur Kailash Gupta and Nicola Durvasula. Their works sold higher than the estimated prices.

The highlight of the auction included the sale of four lots of works for more than Rs.10 million ($250,000) with leading contemporary artist Subodh Gupta shooting past the Rs.40 million ($1 million)-mark. Over 575 registered bidders from 32 countries vied for the prestigious lots.

Within the first hours of the auction, several lots crossed their higher estimates, including T.V. Santhosh’s diptych, featured on the cover of the catalogue, and works by Subodh Gupta, Riyas Komu, Anandajit Ray, G.R. Iranna, Tushar Joag, Dhananjay Singh and George Martin, setting the pace for hectic bidding that continued till the last minute of the sale.

Hosted on Saffronart’s new technology platform, which serves up an innovative and secure user interface, the sale featured several genres of contemporary Indian art, including painting, sculpture, photography and installation.

The top five lots of the auction were Subodh Gupta’s “Idol Thief I”, (sold for $1.07 million); Subodh Gupta’s “Saat Samundra Par” (sold for $850,000), T.V. Santhosh’s “When your Target Cries for Mercy”, (sold for $701,500), Anju Dodiya’s “The Site” ($267,375) and Sudhir Patwardhan’s “The Clearing” (sold for $232,875).

Online art auctions, pioneered by Saffronart, have transformed the landscape of modern and contemporary Indian Art, making it accessible to participants across the world.

Established by Dinesh and Minal Vazirani, Saffronart has set global benchmarks for online art auctions. The company’s innovative business model has prompted the Harvard Business School to write and teach a case study on Saffronart.