Chandigarh, July 22: An international auction of a rare Chandigarh heritage chair in Spain has been cancelled after the Ministry of External Affairs lodged strong diplomatic objections. The Pierre Jeanneret-designed armchair was scheduled to go under the hammer at Setdart Auction House in Barcelona before Indian authorities successfully intervened to stop the sale.
Secretary of Culture for the UT Administration, Dr Syed Abid Rashid Shah, affirmed that official notification was received from the Ministry of External Affairs confirming the withdrawal of the item.
The piece pulled from the catalogue was an original 1952 hanging armchair, crafted from Indian teak with original chains and ropes, carrying an estimated value between €12,000 and €14,000.
Officials maintained that this diplomatic intervention marks the second successful halt of an overseas heritage sale in recent weeks, following a similar breakthrough in Paris that stopped the commercial exploitation of Chandigarh’s architectural history.
