Chandigarh, City-based advocate Ajay Jagga on Sunday urged the Centre and the Chandigarh Administration to intervene urgently to prevent the proposed auction of nine heritage furniture articles associated with Chandigarh and designed by Swiss-French architect Pierre Jeanneret in France on October 25.
In a representation to the Ministries of External Affairs and Culture and the Chandigarh Administration, Jagga sought immediate verification of the provenance and ownership of the articles and requested that the auction be put on hold pending the inquiry.
The auction is scheduled to be held by Paris Oise Encheres in Chantilly, France.
According to the details provided in the representation, several articles are described in the auction catalogue as originating from administrative buildings in Chandigarh.
The items include a set of two Senate Committee chairs, a pair of Avocat armchairs, an Avocat sofa, a bookcase, office cane chairs, a demountable administrative office and a filing cabinet described as being in the style of Jeanneret.
The representation also lists two Easy Cane chairs whose provenance is not specified in the supplied catalogue details. Another item, a teak table, is described as having been specially commissioned for the dependencies of the Palace of the Maharaja of Patiala.
Jagga said the catalogue descriptions warranted immediate verification by the competent authorities, including examination of government inventories, disposal records, transfer documents and permissions relating to the removal of the furniture.
He urged the Ministry of External Affairs to use diplomatic channels to approach the concerned foreign authorities and auction house to seek a hold on the sale until the ownership and provenance of the articles were established.
He also sought appropriate police action wherever evidence of unauthorised removal, misappropriation, theft or illegal disposal was found.
In his representation, Jagga referred to an earlier communication dated September 25 regarding Chandigarh-linked heritage furniture and said an auction had nevertheless proceeded on October 10.
He called for a coordinated mechanism to identify, trace and recover Chandigarh's heritage furniture that may have been removed from the country and offered for sale abroad.
The furniture designed by Jeanneret forms part of Chandigarh's architectural and cultural history, and articles associated with the city's administrative buildings require careful examination before their ownership and movement can be established, the representation said.
The proposed auction includes estimates ranging from 6,000 euros to 45,000 euros for individual lots, according to the supplied list, he said.
The total estimated value requires reconciliation with the overall figures mentioned in the representation.
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