Discarded here,displayed abroad

What was considered scrap here invoked interest among foreign buyers who paid a little more amount to the scrap dealers or others who had purchased the material. Truckloads of such material were reportedly sent from the city. It was on June 5,2007 that Christie’s auction house sold around 50 lots of furniture from Chandigarh at very high prices. This was for the first time that the furniture from Chandigarh fetched such a price,making everyone sit up and take notice.

A hue and cry was raised about the furniture,which was now considered “heritage”,being sold off in foreign lands. Subsequently,several auctions were held including another at Christie’s,then at Sotheby’s and also at Wright Auction House. A library table made of teak,designed by Pierre Jeanneret,had sold for $144,000. A manhole cover was sold for $21,600. A painted cedar and teak drawing table was auctioned for $156,000. Articles from Jeanneret’s house in Chandigarh were sold too.

Following the auctions,the administration constituted a committee to probe how the furniture found its way out of the city. Letters were written to the auction houses to make an attempt to stop the sale of furniture. However,with a lot of furniture having been sold by the government departments themselves and the auction houses having receipts for the purchase,there was little that could be done.

Former principal of Chandigarh College of Architecture Dr S S Bhatti says,“No one realised the worth of the furniture before it was auctioned. The possibility that such recent articles could also become heritage was not considered. Old furniture is still lying neglected on the roof of the High Court. A committee had been constituted after the furniture was sold. We had suggested that the administration should collect the furniture that is present in the city at one place. This could be repaired and instead of other auction houses,the administration should auction it.”

The administration also prepared an inventory of items that were still left in the city. Auction of these items has been banned. However,efforts to preserve the furniture are still lacking. A decision on what needs to be done with the furniture that is present has not been taken yet.