Chandigarh, September 21: Sixteen heritage furniture pieces from Chandigarh, reportedly taken out of the country illegally, were auctioned in France on September 18 for a total of nearly ₹3.93 crore. The collection included a pair of easy chairs, a periodical bookcase, a demountable desk, writing desk chairs, a demountable daybed, a bench, a dining table, a storage unit, a set of three stools, a fireside sofa, fireside armchairs, a sewing stool, file rack storage units, a coffee table, advocate armchairs, and a committee chair.
Ajay Jagga, a member of the Heritage Items Protection Cell of the Chandigarh Administration, noted that all the furniture items were designed by Swiss architect Pierre Jeanneret, cousin of Le Corbusier, who planned the city. He said the bookcase fetched the highest bid at ₹40.70 lakh, followed by the set of three stools for ₹23.08 lakh and the sewing stool for ₹8.13 lakh.
“These items represent Chandigarh’s unique architectural and cultural legacy,” Jagga said. “Selling them in foreign auctions undermines both heritage and the city’s historical identity.”
Jagga has written to Union Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar and Nathalie Chanvallon, Judicial Police Officer in Paris, expressing concern that despite prior representations, including communications with the Ministry of Culture and partial interventions by the Archaeological Survey of India, the Ministry of External Affairs has not taken adequate action.
“Recently, an auction was conducted by a house in France, featuring several iconic furniture and heritage items from Chandigarh designed by Pierre Jeanneret,” Jagga stated. “These sales go against the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Vikshit Bhi, Virasat Bhi,’ which promotes modern development alongside heritage protection.”
He urged the authorities to intervene to prevent further loss of the city’s heritage.
