Chandigarh: Two heritage chairs associated with Chandigarh’s architectural legacy have been listed for auction in Luxembourg, triggering a demand for urgent intervention to prevent their sale and facilitate their return to India.
The teakwood chairs, designed by renowned architect Pierre Jeanneret and believed to date back to around 1955, have been listed by auction house Lux-Auction as Lot No. 88. The estimated price for the pair is between €8,000 and €10,000. The auction catalogue refers to their earlier use in administrative buildings in Chandigarh before they entered a private collection in 2007.
Ajay Pal Jagga, a member of the UT Administrator’s Advisory Council, has urged the Punjab government to take up the matter. In a representation to chief minister Bhagwant Mann and senior officials of the Union ministries of external affairs and culture, he sought an FIR, a police investigation and diplomatic efforts to bring the chairs back to India.
Jagga has pointed to the Punjabi marking “ਕਿ: ਭ: 6” painted on the furniture, suggesting it may indicate a link to Kisan Bhawan in Chandigarh. The origin and ownership history of the chairs would need to be established through official verification.
The listing has raised questions about the movement of furniture associated with Chandigarh’s heritage into overseas private collections and the steps needed to safeguard such pieces.
