The Billion Pound Man

“Selling is an art in itself and it is my job to make the bidder happily nod in acceptance rather than shake his head in refusal,” said Edmeades,who is in Chandigarh on an invitation from the city’s Rotary Club. He will conduct a private charity auction,an area he has come to specialise in,on Saturday to raise funds to support heart surgeries. A collection of jewellery,antiques,lithographs by the late MF Husain and a golf cart are some of the valuables that will go under the hammer.

Having conducted high-profile international charity auctions — in the last 10 years,he has helped raise in excess of £50 million for charitable causes — Edmeades is the right man for the job. “The power of persuasion apart,as an auctioneer I have to be a good actor. I need to be well-informed and look equally involved in the first lot to the last. Personally,I like to make it fun and infuse humour in my dealings with the bidders,” said Edmeades. He also refers to himself as a TV game show host. “Ever since Christie’s auctions went live on the internet,I have to talk to the camera as well,” says the auctioneer with a chuckle. He admits to being “excited” about the first commercial auction in India to be held in Mumbai on December 19.

“Three weeks ago,we conducted our first auction in Shanghai. Asia is definitely the focus for the company,” Edmeades says,adding that the Mumbai auction is a reflection of the increased international appeal of Indian art as well as growing clout of Indian collectors in the global marketplace. “The selection will include a lot of contemporary works,” says Edmeades,who also trains future auctioneers. “It always helps for the auctioneer to know the local language and I am now in the process of training auctioneers who speak Mandarin Chinese for Shanghai as well those conversant in Arabic for conducting auctions in Dubai,” he says.

He recalls how he would shy from the spotlight when he was in school. “I was

always the one who volunteered for backstage work like painting the scenery. But my training at Christie’s changed all of that,” said Edmeades. He is also planning to compile anecdotes from auctions

held over the years into a book. “No two auctions are ever the same and most

bidders have interesting mannerisms that I have begun to identify over the years,” he shares.

Personally,the international auctioneer likes to collect Victorian watercolour paintings but as a rule he isn’t permitted to buy the works that go up for bidding. “There was a pair of 18th Century leopards in Chinese blue pottery that I would have loved to get my hands on as well as a shipping scene painting by Edward Seago,” he says.