Nirav Modi's assets live auction postponed to March 5

According to the program, a collection of 112 lots of prized assets seized from Nirav Modi will be put up for online and live auction for three days starting March 5.

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Mumbai: The Saffronart auction house late on Wednesday announced it has postponed the much-anticipated `Spring Live Auction` of absconder diamantaire Nirav Modi`s collection of prized assets from Feb 27 to March 5.

No reasons were assigned for rescheduling the auction to be conducted on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Mumbai, at 7.30 pm on March 5 at the Saffronart office in Prabhadevi, Dadar.

However, the `Spring Online Auction` will be held as per schedules already announced, on March 3-4, said a Saffronart spokesperson.

According to the program, a collection of 112 lots of prized assets seized from Modi will be put up for online and live auction for three days starting March 5.

The auction sale of these assets is an attempt to recover a part of the dues Modi owes to various banks after his involvement in the estimated Rs 14,000-crore Punjab National Bank scam of 2018.

The works going under the hammer in two separate auctions would include major artworks by top contemporary and modern Indian artists, coveted luxury watches, handbags and cars.

The live auction comprises around 40 lots including 15 artworks worth in crores of rupees, and the rest will go for auction online next week.

Leading the pack in the online sale are works by M.F. Husain, Amrita Sher-Gil. They are: `Boys With Lemons` a 1935 masterpiece by Sher-Gil, described as a "non-exportable national art treasure" and Husain`s 1972 masterpiece `Battle of Ganga and Jamuna Mahabharata 12`.

Both these paintings are estimated to fetch around Rs 12 crore with Sher-Gil`s work coming in for public sale for the first time.

There`s a 1972 V.S. Gaitonde`s untitled painting estimated to sell for about Rs Seven crore, a 1992 untitled creation of Lord Krishna by Manjit Bawa for about Rs three crore, an untitled work by Raja Ravi Varma commanding around Rs 3 crore, and a 1996 painting `Twenty-seven Ducks of Memory` by Arpita Singh for around Rs 1.80 crore.

In the sub-crore rupees list are works by Ganesh Pyne, K.K. Hebbar, Vishwanath Nageshkar, Sudhanshu Choudhary and Shan Bhatnagar.

A Rolls-Royce Ghost with advanced features, technology and comforts will also be on auction (live) estimated at Rs 75-95 lakhs, besides a 2010 Porsche Panamera for between Rs 10-15 lakh (online).

Over two dozen luxury items, including watches worth millions of rupees like a rare Jaeger-LeCoultre Men`s `Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2` limited edition and a Patek Phillipe `Nautilus` Gold and Diamond Wristwatch, will also be on auction, both expected to fetch around Rs 70 lakhs each.

The auctions will feature several top brands of handbags such as Birkin and Kelly from Hermes in the range of Rs 3-6 lakhs.

The other items will be expensive personal collectibles from Chanel, Piaget, Celine and Louis Vuitton and Cartier Asymmetric `Crash` wristwatch.

Saffronart had conducted an auction of seized items on behalf of the IT Department in March 2019 and sold items worth Rs 54.84 crore.