Edward Gibbs on Sotheby's Strategy and Educational Initiatives for India

p/p pandnbsp;/p p!-[if gte mso 9]xml w:WordDocument w:ViewNormal/w:View w:Zoom0/w:Zoom w:TrackMoves / w:TrackFormatting / w:PunctuationKerning / w:ValidateAgainstSchemas / w:SaveIfXMLInvalidfalse/w:SaveIfXMLInvalid w:IgnoreMixedContentfalse/w:IgnoreMixedContent w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderTextfalse/w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText w:DoNotPromoteQF / w:LidThemeOtherEN-US/w:LidThemeOther w:LidThemeAsianX-NONE/w:LidThemeAsian w:LidThemeComplexScriptX-NONE/w:LidThemeComplexScript w:Compatibility w:BreakWrappedTables / w:SnapToGridInCell / w:WrapTextWithPunct / w:UseAsianBreakRules / w:DontGrowAutofit / w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark / w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp / w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables / w:DontVertAlignInTxbx / w:Word11KerningPairs / w:CachedColBalance / /w:Compatibility w:BrowserLevelMicrosoftInternetExplorer4/w:BrowserLevel m:mathPr m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math" / m:brkBin m:val="before" / m:brkBinSub m:val=" " / m:smallFrac m:val="off" / m:dispDef / m:lMargin m:val="0" / m:rMargin m:val="0" / m:defJc m:val="centerGroup" / m:wrapIndent m:val="1440" / m:intLim m:val="subSup" / m:naryLim m:val="undOvr" / /m:mathPr/w:WordDocument /xml![endif]-/p p!-[if gte mso 9]xml w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true" DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99" LatentStyleCount="267" w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid" / w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography" / w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading" / /w:LatentStyles /xml![endif]-!-[if gte mso 10] mce:style! /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} - !-[endif] -/p p class="MsoNormal"Edward Gibbs, chairman, Sothebyandrsquo;s India, talks about the educational initiatives and strategy for India, the Indian art scene and his inherent love and passion for Islamic and Indian art./p p class="MsoNormal"andnbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongEdited excerpts/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"andnbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongCan you tell us about Sothebyandrsquo;s recently launched three-day course in Mumbai on international contemporary art?/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"We have partnered with our affiliate, the Sothebyandrsquo;s Institute of Art, and are very delighted to have them involved with our activities here in India. Weandrsquo;ve chosen to bring the first of a number of programmesandmdash;a three-day course on contemporary artandmdash;both, international and Indian contemporary, which places Indian contemporary art in an international context and also relates the Indian market with the global scenario./p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"andnbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongWhat is the aim of these educational initiatives in India and how has the response been to the course?/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strong/strongThe agenda is to open up the world of Sothebyandrsquo;s to a new audience in India and show how we are easily accessible through our website and departments. At Sothebyandrsquo;s, thereandrsquo;s something for everybodyandmdash;from a US$100 million dollar painting to a new watch to something for your sonandrsquo;s 21st birthday and even a gift for your daughterandrsquo;s wedding. Itandrsquo;s not just a 360-degree service we provide, thereandrsquo;s also a great deal of enjoyment and friendships and relationships that are made. The participants in the Sothebyandrsquo;s Institute of Art course were a group of talented peopleandmdash;gallerists, collectors, artists and journalists. In terms of educating and initiating people into the auction process, we are trying to actively engage people and their participation through our local office here and interactive events and activities./p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongspan style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"andnbsp;/span/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongspan style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Is this a part of the strategy and roadmap for India?/span/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strong/strongThis is a vital part of our strategy as we want to bring the world of Sothebyandrsquo;s to India. Part of our work is the educational wing, which is not just about academics, but also educating Indians about the span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"andnbsp;/spanmarketplace, our business and helping our clients to transact globally in Sothebyandrsquo;s sales. Weandrsquo;ve had a number of lectures by international specialists such as Simon Shaw, Co-Head, Impressionist andamp; Modern Art Worldwide, who visited Delhi last year. He spoke about the historic sale of Edvard Munchandrsquo;s emThe Scream /emthat went for over US$100 million dollars, amongst other interesting aspects./p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongemandnbsp;/em/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongspan style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Is there any recently auctioned collection of works that you would like to talk about?/span/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"Yes, one of the highlights is a collection of Indian miniatures coming from a private seller. Itandrsquo;s called the Khosrovani-Diba Collection that was sold in October. It was put together over many years, mostly from the 1970s. Thereandrsquo;s one piece from the collection, emStudy of a Stork/em, which is a painting of a bird, a life-size painting of a stork eating a snail. It was commissioned by Lady Impey, wife of Sir Elijah Impey, who moved to Kolkata in 1774 and served as the Chief Justice of Bengal. Lady Impey loved birds and animals and built a zoo in her garden and later commissioned three Indian painters, the principal one being Shaykh Zayn al-Din, to paint portraits of all the animals and birds. The works from this series were put together in an album thatandrsquo;s known as the Lady Impey Series. In the 1970s, some of the paintings were sold through a London dealership, including emStudy of a Stork/em, and was bought by none other than former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Her estate was then sold by Sothebyandrsquo;s in the late 90s and became a part of the Khosrovani-Diba Collection. This painting is special because of its wonderful trail of three women collectorsandmdash;Lady Impey, Jacqueline Kennedy and Jaleh Khosrovani-Dibaandmdash;and we call it the Kennedy Stork./p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"andnbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"andnbsp;/p p style="text-align: center;"/p p style="text-align: center;"emFRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA, THE DEPOSITION, OIL ON CANVAS, 1963, SOLD FOR andpound;15,65,000 AT THE MODERN andamp; CONTEMPORARY SOUTH ASIAN ART SALE ON OCT 18 IN LONDON/em/p pandnbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongspan style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"What role can Sothebyandrsquo;s play in leveraging Indian art and artists and bringing them at par with their global contemporaries?/span/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"Thereandrsquo;s a very healthy artistic ecosystem already established here. Sothebyandrsquo;s can offer an international platform to Indian artists and can also bring international art through our specialists and visiting lecturers to India. In terms of collectors and those who are interested in acquiring art, weandrsquo;ve noticed a healthy increaseandmdash;itandrsquo;s 10 per cent year on year over the last five yearsandmdash;in the number of Indian buyers participating in our global sales./p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"andnbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongspan style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Can you tell us about the other initiatives and plans in the offing for the India market?/span/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"We have opened an office at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai and are looking to expand the team. Weandrsquo;re active in education and are also looking at other initiatives. Online sales are hugely important for Sothebyandrsquo;s business and we realize that digital platform and online sales play an important role in bringing new buyers in. If you look at the statistics, Indian buyers are very active online. We see more than a 40 to 50 per cent increase in participation of Indian buyers online and the same percentage increase in the value of their spending. So we are trying to reach out to buyers, while bringing the world of Sothebyandrsquo;s to India./p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"andnbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongspan style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"In your opinion, which period or era in Indiaandrsquo;s history was the richest in art?/span/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"There are many high points in Indiaandrsquo;s history. Iandrsquo;m very eclectic in my taste and, for me, it would be early Buddhist art and the Mauryan period under Emperor Ashoka. The pillars of Ashoka are global masterpieces and extraordinary sculptures, which are comparable to the best of Greek and Roman art. Iandrsquo;m also very interested in south Indian temple architecture, Tanjore, Mahabalipuram, medieval sculptures, the Gupta Period and the Ajanta and Ellora Caves. However, the Mughal period from the mid-16th century in India with emperors Humayun, Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jahan saw some extraordinary flourishing of miniature paintings of precious objects in jade, rock crystal and metal and some great buildings in Agra, Delhi and throughout India./p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongemandnbsp;/em/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongspan style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Is there any particular Indian artwork or artist that you are truly impressed by?/span/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"It would have to be the unique wine cup of jade made for the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan; it is now with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Itandrsquo;s the most exquisite bowl carved out of a block of pale green flawless jade and itandrsquo;s in the shape of a mango leaf and the stalk of the leaf morphs into a goatandrsquo;s head. It even has a perfectly formed lotus leaf that is the base of the cupandmdash;it is by far the most exquisite work of art. Among artists, I admire the works of Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, S. H. Raza and Francis Newton Souza among othersandmdash;my tastes are more inclined towards the modernists, rather than the contemporary artists./p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongemandnbsp;/em/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongspan style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"Tell us about your personal art collection./span/strong/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"I would describe it more as an accumulation rather than a collection. I havenandrsquo;t been systematic about the way I collect; I just buy what I love. I collect as I live my life with passion./p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"andnbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"emPhotos Courtesy: Sotheby's/em/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"andnbsp;/p p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; line-height: normal; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"strongMore On andgt;andgt; a href="http://www.luxpresso.com/topic/art-auctions" target="_blank"Art andamp; Auctions/a/strong/p

from Luxpresso http://www.luxpresso.com/news-lifestyle/edward-gibbs-on-sothebys-strategy-and-educational-initiatives-for-india/16112848
via Your #1 Source to Finding Luxury & Designer Goods, Handbags & Clothes at or Below Wholesale: Click Here.