London, October 2024

Seminal Works by Indian Modernists K.C.S Paniker & F.N. Souza Come to Auction

14 October 2024

In brief: UK auction house Roseberys to auction works by internationally exhibited Indian modernist painters K.C.S Paniker & F.N. Souza in Antiquities, Islamic & Indian Arts sale on Friday 25th October.

High res images here. Please credit Roseberys.

Roseberys’ Antiquities, Islamic and Indian Arts auction on October 25th will feature fifteen works by pioneering Indian Modernists. The sale will include paintings by internationally exhibited artists F.N. Souza and K.C.S. Paniker, as well as three sketches by Somnath Hore.

Pictured: Lot 396 & 397 (Untitled, Head) by F.N. Souza

The two works by Souza in the sale feature distorted human heads, an iconographic shorthand he used throughout his career to explore personal and political turmoil. The works carry estimates between £10,000-£25,000. Lot 396, Untitled, signed and dated ’87, bears formal similarities to a head formerly in the collection of Robin Howard CBE, sold on 20 March 2024 at Christie’s for USD $504,000, while Lovers sold in the same sale for $4,890,000, demonstrating the consistent appetite for Souza works.

Kovalezhi Cheerampathoor Sankara Paniker (1911-1977), a towering figure in the Madras Art Movement, is renowned for his abstract and metaphysical paintings. His shift from Western aesthetics to regional pictorial traditions firmly established him as a pivotal figure in post-colonial Modernism. In 1976, he was awarded the highest award of the Lalit Kala Akademi, India's National Academy of Art, the Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi for lifetime contribution. The present works, dated 1953 and 1956, exemplify a transitional moment from figuration towards the abstraction that would define his mature career. The two paintings carry estimates between £700-£1,500.

Pictured: Lot 377 and 378 by K.C.S Paniker

The paintings come with strong provenance. The two works by Souza were gifted by the artist to his close friend, the art critic, K.B. Goel (1930 - 2018) and are now offered as the property of Dr. Premlata Goel, his widow. The works by Paniker come from the estate of Audrey Grace Tidmarsh (1920-2002), British Secretary for Special Operations during the Second World War.

There is growing interest in Indian modernist art among the British public, as exemplified by the current Barbican exhibition. This auction gives collectors the opportunity to acquire works by significant 20th-century artists. Conservative estimates have been set to match the rapid demand for Modern and Contemporary Indian art, appealing to both established collectors and those looking to start or expand their collections."

Alice Bailey, Director and Head of Islamic & Indian Arts at Roseberys.

The sale also includes high calibre antiquities from the collections of Michael Barrington and Philip Hewat-Jaboor, calligraphies from the former collection of Qajar official 'Abd al-Wahhab Khan, Nizam ul-Mulk, and Indian fine diamond jewellery.

Lot 372: An enamelled and diamond set gold necklace and earrings, India, first half 20th century Estimate: £18,000-£25,000

The sale is timed to coincide with the influx of buyers to the UK for the annual Asian Art in London event held in the venues around the capital from late October to November 8. Roseberys is among the 32 participants.