135 artworks fetched Rs. 118.6 crores : Future of Indian online art auction deconstructed

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If you are living in one of the metros in India, you are by now aware of art fairs happening around you. If you are an art connoisseur who loves frequenting these exhibitions, no questions asked. But if you are someone who doesn’t know much, we shall be talking about online art auction scenario in India.

With everything going digital, art couldn’t be an exception. However the only problem the art market in India faces right now is the disparity between demand and supply. This particular market has just too much supply at the moment, compared to the demand from a small, predominantly impressionable collecting community.


“As the individual collector’s awareness, collecting instincts and acumen sharpen, we will record a tangible movement towards rejection of mediocre work that will be side-stepped in favour of comparably powerful pieces, even if that amounts to a longer wait, and a higher spend on part of the collector,” said Arvind Vijaymohan, founder of Artery India, an art intelligence firm that provides art investment services.


Since this concern of overpopulation of offered lots is self-inflicted, the cure lies with the auctioneers and their tightening up on the number of works they consign for sale annually.

Online auction

The Indian auction market is not inundated with sellers, with 6 primary establishments apart from 4 marginal players. Within this, there were two primary players operating in the exclusively online auction arena: Saffronart, and Astaguru. The former is a global pioneer in this domain, initiating online auctions in 2000, while the latter had its first sale in 2008. Saffronart, in addition to moving out of the exclusively online sales domain in late 2013 with their foray into live sales, launched an online platform called StoryLTD in 2014 that offers entrant collectors, design enthusiasts, bargain hunters and traders access to low-priced art and collectables. The fourth platform to enter this domain is Artiana, a Dubai-based entity, that mounted 2 sales in 2016.


According to the Artery Indian Art Intelligence and Performance Centre, the performance of the Indian Modern and Contemporary online auction category in 2016, (with comparative reference to 2015) was as follows:

Total number of online auctions in 2016: 15
Total number of online auctions in 2015: 16

Total number of works sold in 2016: 1,029
Total number of works sold in 2015: 1,266

Total sales price in 2016: Rs. 142.7 cr
Total sales price in 2015: Rs. 83.3 cr


“On first glance, it would appear that the performance in 2016 was significantly better than the previous year. Despite a drop in the number of lots sold in 2016 - down to 1,029, from 1,266 in 2015, the sales price achieved ascended strongly up to Rs. 142.7 cr (from Rs 83.3 cr in 2015). Excellent growth indicator? Not entirely,” said Vijaymohan.

“One crucial detail to consider was that 67% of 1,266 lots sold in 2015 were from the low-value object platform, StoryLTD, that contributed to just a notch over 16% of the annual total sales price. In 2016, StoryLTD’s lot contribution deflated to 31.5% of the total works sold, while its sales were a mere 4.8% of the year’s total sales price,” he added.
While the global perspective may be different, but the country that has given fame to artists like Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy and Amrita Sher-gil , Modern and Contemporary Evening and Day sales remain well above their online auction counterparts.

Consider Saffronart’s online vs. live sales in 2016. While 3 online sales raised Rs. 37.9 cr from 214 works, their 2 live sales raised Rs. 118.6 crores from 135 works. While this would in part be attributed to the company’s reserving stronger works for its live sale as instead of its former exclusively online sales platform, it summarises the gap between the two formats.