Less than two weeks after India's first-ever diplomatic intervention successfully stalled the Paris auction of two stolen Chandigarh heritage chairs, two more pieces of Pierre Jeanneret-designed furniture from the city's Capitol Project have surfaced in international auction listings. One auction is scheduled in Los Angeles on July 15 and another in Barcelona on July 22.
Activist Alerts Indian Missions
Heritage activist and advocate Ajay Jagga, a member of the UT Heritage Items Protection Cell, has written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat seeking intervention ahead of both sales. He has also separately alerted the Consulate General of India in San Francisco and the Consulate General of India in Barcelona, attaching the auction details and requesting necessary action. Copies have been forwarded to Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, with Jagga flagging that one of the items carries a marking that appears to identify it as originating from the State Legislature Members Block, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha complex.
The Los Angeles Auction
The Los Angeles sale is being conducted by Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA). The lot is a Pierre Jeanneret desk and chair from Chandigarh, estimated at USD 6,000 to USD 8,000 (approximately Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6.7 lakh), with a current bid of USD 5,000 already recorded. The auction catalogue specifically notes the furniture's Chandigarh origin and records an original institutional stencil marking — SLMB — which Jagga interprets as standing for State Legislature Members Block, the legislative complex that predated the division of Punjab. If that reading is accurate, the piece would be the latest in a line of Vidhan Sabha-linked items to surface in overseas auctions, following the MLA Hostel chairs sold in Chicago on June 4 for Rs 1.16 crore, a sale that had prompted Speaker Sandhwan to seek a custody report from the Chandigarh Administration.
The Barcelona Auction
The Barcelona auction is being handled by Setdart Auction House. The lot is described as an original Chandigarh heritage hanging armchair, catalogue reference PJ-SI-07-A, dated circa 1952, in Indian teak wood with chains and ropes, carrying slight damage. Its estimate is €12,000 to €14,000 (approximately Rs 13 lakh to Rs 15.3 lakh), with a current bid of €8,000 (approximately Rs 8.72 lakh) already placed.
Background of Paris Intervention
In his representation, Jagga acknowledged the outcome of the Paris intervention, noting that the MEA and India's Permanent Delegation to UNESCO had successfully stalled the June 25 auction by François Epin in Paris following a formal diplomatic request by the Chandigarh Administration, backed by two FIRs registered by Chandigarh Police on June 23. That intervention, the first of its kind in over a decade of continuous international auctions, was triggered by The Tribune's reports on the impending sale, after which Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria had directed Chief Secretary H Rajesh Prasad to act immediately.
Ongoing International Market
The current listings indicate that the Paris stalling, while a significant development, has not disrupted the broader international market for Chandigarh furniture. Auction houses in at least two countries have active Chandigarh lots going to sale within the next fortnight, with one already attracting bids.
Demand for Standard Operating Procedure
In his letter, Jagga renewed his long-standing demand for a formal standard operating procedure covering all Indian missions abroad, requiring them to monitor international auction houses, flag Chandigarh heritage listings and initiate timely diplomatic and legal intervention. He also sought a coordinated mechanism involving the MEA, Ministry of Culture, ASI and the Chandigarh Administration for continuous monitoring and repatriation efforts.
Punjab's Concern
Writing separately to Speaker Sandhwan and Chief Minister Mann, Jagga said the auction of items carrying the SLMB marking was a direct concern for Punjab. “The Mughal Empire effectively came to an end on September 21, 1857. The British Empire effectively came to an end in August 1947. But the auction of Punjab’s heritage is still going on,” he wrote, urging the Punjab Government to take steps to save the state's cultural legacy.
What Next
Both auctions fall within the window in which the precedent set by the Paris intervention could, in principle, be replicated, provided the MEA moves quickly and the Indian missions in San Francisco and Barcelona receive and act on their instructions before the hammer falls on July 15 and July 22, respectively. Whether the institutional machinery activated in June can be mobilised again within days, and whether it can function simultaneously across two jurisdictions, will be the test of whether the Paris breakthrough has produced a replicable model or remains a one-off. As of the time of going to press, no response from the MEA, the Chandigarh Administration or the Indian missions in San Francisco and Barcelona was available.
