Gold Ganpati idol, costliest ever gift to Lalbaugcha Raja, sold for ₹35.75L at auction

The auction value for the gold idol is more than the highest bid of ₹34 lakh last year,

A Ganesh idol, the costliest item gifted to Lalbaugcha Raja in the last 85 years, was auctioned on Thursday for ₹35.75 lakh.

Lalbaugcha Raja organisers auctioned the gold and silver which was offered to Ganpati at Lalbaugh on Thursday. (HT Photo)

The idol, with an approximate value of ₹42 lakh, is made of gold and has a diamond encrusted on its crown.

The gold idol, weighing approximately 1kg and 200gm, held a base price of ₹31 lakh. On the other hand, the second highest item to be auctioned was a gold biscuit, weighing around 1 kg, which was sold at the cost of ₹31.25 lakh.

The auction value for the gold idol is more than the highest bid of ₹34 lakh last year, for which, gold legs weighing less than 1 kg, were auctioned.

However, the total collection for the auction this year is expected to be less than last year, which was ₹1.58 crore.

At the time of going to print, the auction was still on, as a result of which, the final amount was not available.

“This year, we held an auction for only one day as compared to three days in previous years, which is why, a lesser amount is expected this year. The other items will be sold till Saturday at our office,” said Balasaheb Kamble, president, Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal.

Among other unique products that were auctioned was a silver flower with American diamonds on it, a mace and a miniature ship, among other things.

The copper mace with a silver coating was auctioned at ₹65,000, having a base price of ₹21,000.

Gaurav Chandwani, a Worli resident, who brought the mace said he has been coming to the auction for more than 15 years.

“I have a lot of unique items purchased from the Lalbaugh auction, which includes a sword and another mace. I had taken a mace, seven years ago when I had come with my father. This year too I felt like I should get one,” said Chandwani.

The mandal collected ₹6.56 lakh cash from various boxes placed in the mandal as compared to ₹6.14 lakh last year.