The Inside Man
Leading up to the annual sale of South Asian Art at Christie’s, one of London’s mostanticipated events, the auction house’s international director of Asian Art, Dr Amin Jaffer opens up his diary to give us VIP access to the madness behind it
The thought of swimming in the sea off the Amalfi Coast often helps to get me through the frenetic days of May and June. My job at Christie’s is full of pleasures and experiences that I am constantly grateful for but sometimes, when it gets a bit out of hand, I allow myself to day dream about my summer vacation where it will all seem a world away.
These early summer months are always among the busiest of the year, and at Christie’s, it marks the start of our summer season when, in London, we hold some of our most important sales of the year. But before we visit London, let me whet your appetite by giving a brief insight into last weekend when I was visiting Venice with a group of friends who had travelled there for the 55th Biennale, curated by Massimiliano Gioni. This glittering showcase of contemporary art from all over the world is only held every two years and, for our group of mainly Indian collectors, is a rare opportunity to experience trends in contemporary art in one space. It was a wonderful few days. We enjoyed a tour of Marc Quinn’s exhibition on the island of San Giorgio, with the artist himself explaining the works to us. Then, to the Doge’s Palace for a private evening tour of the Manet exhibition in which works by the artist were hung with the Old Master Paintings that inspired them. This was a sublime moment—to be there at night, away from the crowds that normally fill those fabled rooms. A highlight of the week was seeing Fragile, an exhibition of works in glass by contemporary artists. My favourite piece was Mona Hatoum’s Drowning Sorrows.
My final day was spent away from work, touring my favourite churches—Santa Maria dei Miracoli and SS Giovanni e Paolo, left empty as the hoards poured into the Biennale Pavilions. I always take the opportunity while in Venice to visit Ottica Carraro, my favourite opticians, to order a few pairs of their glasses. The design
and colours are fabulous, and along with the purchase of a few pairs of Italian cotton and cashmere socks, complete any trip!
Properly equipped, I returned to London for Tate Modern’s South Asia Acquisition Committee meeting, chaired by Lekha Poddar. It is a great privilege to work with a group of art supporters in helping Tate to acquire works of South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art, a collection which one day will be in a class of its own. That night I was out to Harry’s Bar for a dinner with leading collectors and museum luminaries as the sale week really began.
All too soon I was back at my desk and attached to my phone 24/7 leading up to our three Indian auctions. When I arrived back into the department, the office, usually such a quiet and studious place, was packed with colleagues who had flown in from New York and our Mumbai office to help out. It is always fun to catch up with those who we spend so much time with each day, but never see and rarely talk to as so much work is done over email! I was able to spend some time with Menaka (Kumari-Shah), our Country Head in India, and together we discussed plans for India over the coming months.
The next day was full of phone calls as we prepared client visits to the pre-sale exhibition and made the final preparations for our annual dinner co-hosted by Usha Mittal, chairman of Christie’s, Viscount Linley, and Raj Sehgal of Credit Suisse. This is always a great occasion where the key supporters of the Indian art scene gather. To host some of these convening moments is critical to our role at Christie’s as market leaders. By Sunday, I had joined my colleagues for an informal breakfast at Christie’s South Kensington, where collectors gathered to see ‘Garden of Epics’ and ‘Arts of India’, two sales devoted to miniature paintings and Indian fine and decorative arts, against the background of ice cream sundaes, madelaines, and cappuccinos.
And so finally to the sale days themselves, always a whirlwind of telephone calls and meetings in anticipation of the auction. I think I spent nearly every second of each of the three sales on the phone. The greatest pleasure was bidding with a private collector who bought the front cover lot—a seminal work by VS Gaitonde and the back cover lot, a beautifully coloured canvas by SH Raza. What was astonishing this season was that three of the top 10 selling works were bought by clients who bid online. The Internet is an increasingly useful tool for our buyers, enabling them to see the sale as it happens, but bid discreetly or from the other side of the world.
All the hard work and preparation paid off as the sale was a great success. So finally it is all over, the months of work and planning…or not as Impressionist auctions approach. Immediately I am off to the Mayfair restaurant Novikov for a dinner hosted by Rajeeb and Nadia Samdani, and the following evening to the Art and Antiques Fair which has just opened and then to Claridges for the launch of the Assouline book shop.
The Amalfi Coast is a week closer now but perhaps a more pressing reality is my inbox—my most satisfying achievement after this week of meeting new and old friends and seeing the very best art in the world and from my country, would be if I could clear it.