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Souza's Hanuman Leads Saffronart Auction at Record Rs 15.60 Crore
F N Souza's artwork “Hanuman the Monkey God” was sold at an art auction.
The buyer paid Rs 15.60 crore for it.
This was the most money ever paid at auction for one of Souza's works on paper.
The artwork was made with help from artist Mohan Sharma.
Saffronart sold 200 artworks in its live and online auctions.
Together, the artworks brought in Rs 250.58 crore.
Several other artists also set personal auction records.
One online-sale painting by Jagdish Swaminathan sold for more than twice its higher estimate.
F N Souza's “Hanuman the Monkey God” sold for Rs 15.60 crore at Saffronart's Live Autumn Auction.
The sale set a worldwide auction record for Souza's highest-valued individual work on paper.
Saffronart's 200 lots sold for a combined Rs 250.58 crore across live and online auctions.
MV Dhurandhar's “Shri Mahalakshmi” achieved an artist auction record at Rs 14.10 crore.
Works by A Ramachandran, G Ravinder Reddy and Jangarh Singh Shyam also set artist auction records.
- Who
- Saffronart organized the auctions, featuring works by F N Souza and other Indian artists.
- What
- F N Souza's “Hanuman the Monkey God” led the auctions with a sale price of Rs 15.60 crore and set a worldwide auction record for his individual works on paper.
- Where
- The live auction was held in New Delhi; the online sale was conducted by Saffronart.
- When
- The live auction was held on September 19, and the online auction ran from September 21 to 22.
- Why
- The works were offered as part of Saffronart's Live Autumn Auction, which the auction house said reflected continued confidence in Indian art.
Key facts
- Top sale
- F N Souza's “Hanuman the Monkey God” — Rs 15.60 crore
- Total lots sold
- 200
- Combined sale value
- Rs 250.58 crore
- Live sale value
- Rs 218.62 crore
- Online sale value
- Rs 31.97 crore
- Second-highest notable sale
- MV Dhurandhar's “Shri Mahalakshmi” — Rs 14.10 crore
- Souza artwork medium
- Gouache on paper
Quotes
Dinesh Vazirani
CEO and co-founder of Saffronart
“The results across the two sales extend the strong momentum we have seen through 2026 and reflect continued confidence in Indian art across categories and generations of collectors. As we look ahead, we remain focused on bringing exceptional works to collectors globally and contributing to the continued growth of the market.”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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