Tyeb Mehta, Jehangir Sabavala and more: See them before they’re sold

65 masterpieces will be part of Saffronart’s Evening Sale live auction. Check them out as exhibits all through the week.

A human-bird hybrid falls from the skies in a painting titled Falling Bird, that took artist Tyeb Mehta three years to finish. A 4-ft-high bronze sculpture by Meera Mukherjee covered in figures of women and men to represent balance in nature. A 1945 painting of glorious snow-capped Himalayas created by Russian artist Nicholas Roerich using tempera — an ancient method of painting with colours mixed with egg yolk and water.

These are among 65 masterpieces that will be part of Saffronart’s Evening Sale live auction scheduled for March 13. Before they go under the hammer, check them out as exhibits all through the week leading up to the auction.

“We’ve been able to source some exceptional works that till now have only been part of private collections,” says Hugo Weihe, CEO of Saffronart. “So, collectors and viewers can look forward to interesting discoveries.”

Balance, a 4-ft-high bronze sculpture by Meera Mukherjee covered in figures of women and men to represent balance in nature.

Mukherjee’s, for instance, is among her largest non-public sculptures to enter the auction market. Titled Balance, it’s been sourced from a private collector who acquired it in 1995. It is expected to fetch about Rs 4 crore; the Tyeb Mehta, about Rs 6 crore.

A human-bird hybrid tumbles from the skies in Tyeb Mehta’s Falling Bird.

And Jehangir Sabavala’s 1968 work, The Star That Beckons. With muted colours and stark landscape, the haunting artwork emerged at a time when the young artist was finding his own voice. It’s from Dermot and Patricia de Trafford’s collection in UK. This lot also includes a signed copy of Sabavala, a 1966 monograph that the artist gifted to the de Traffords as mark of their friendship.

“Artists like AA Almelkar have often been overlooked. So, the idea is to help viewers reconnect with them,” says Weihe.