Winning Bid

It led the Sotheby’s auction featuring Russian works on Tuesday,but when Vasili Vasilievich Vereshchagin’s acclaimed work titled Pearl Mosque at Delhi came under the hammer for $3.1 million in New York,it was a bid closely watched by India too. After all,the 13 ft x 16 ft painting,considered one of the most significant works of the Russian artist,depicts the Moti Masjid (no longer open to public),lacated inside the Red Fort. Built by Aurangzeb between 1660-1670,Vereshchagin painted the mosque between 1876-79,after his two-year visit to India. The painting that was put on display in Sotheby’s York Avenue gallery on October 26,depicts men kneeling for prayers at the mosque,and was offered by the Museum of Fine Arts,Boston,along with seven other works. It had a pre-sale estimate ranging from 3 -5 million dollars.