Everyone bets on Indian miniatures

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The scope of the Indian miniature is not miniature at all. This genre, which flourished throughout the South Asian continent for centuries, covers vast terrain: diverse cultures, religions and subjects, from formal portraits of bureaucrats to fantastic mythical scenes. These images, mostly small in size, originally produced for albums or folios, are distinguished by the brilliance of colors, attention to detail and often very precious materials; many of them are made with natural pigments such as malachite or lapis lazuli. And this autumn they will be all over London.

Next month, Sotheby’s will conduct the third and fourth part of the sale of the property of Stuart Cary Welch, considered by many the leading miniature collector of the last 50 years; Two days later, Christie’s will put up for sale that of Toby Falk, another great academic and specialist. MK Gallery opens in Milton Keynes this weekend Beyond the Page: Miniature Painting from South Asia and Britain, 1600 to the Present (from October 7 to January 28), while in November, the artist room will present new works by the British Sikh artist Jatinder Singh Durhailay, whose portraits are directly inspired by tradition, but replace the sultans and courtiers with musicians (costing between £2,000 and £10,000). In short: “It’s time to get in!” says art dealer francesca gallowaywho has worked in the field for five decades.

They are so romantic, so emotional, so beautiful.

Miniatures have been sent as gifts or brought back from travels since the height of the Mughal Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. That’s when the genre really flourished, expanding a style imported from Persia. “For me, it’s the first thing I do when I think of Indian paintings,” says Behnaz Atighi Moghaddam, a specialist in Islamic and Indian art at Christie’s. More recently, however, there was a shift in the market in the 1970s, when the maharajas of India lost their private portfolios and sold images commissioned by their ancestors. Cary Welch acquired many and, like Falk, helped promote their popularity in Europe and the United States through academic exhibitions at the V&A or the Met, which partly explains why the first two parts of the sale of Cary Welch in 2011 broke records, grossing £21 million. and £8.4 million respectively.

But in the last five to ten years, the market has changed direction. In addition to the usual crowd of buyers – academic institutions and museums; knowledgeable collectors; interior decorators – a new demographic has arrived. A growing wealthy middle class in India has developed a new interest in their heritage – “and they like to buy the best,” says Galloway.

The only question is where to start. Benedict Carter, head of Islamic art at Sotheby’s, recommends starting with a school and perfecting your eyesight; In addition, carefully monitor the origin. The collector too David Toor, who has specialized in works that explore his Sikh heritage. Carter thought the market for Mughal works might have “gone down” a little, “but in recent years it has really come back.” At Sotheby’s, the prize lot will be a “small but jewel-like” portrait of Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur, painted around 1600, where the king sits astride a huge elephant dressed in gold in a swirl of pink flowers . It measures just 14cm by 10cm and has a starting price of £300,000 to £500,000.

Atighi Moghaddam, for his part, has a personal preference for the Pahari school of painting, which has seen a marked increase in popularity: “they are so romantic, so emotional and so beautiful.” While Mughal paintings tend to dazzle with their formal beauty, Pahari paintings seduce in a more subtle way. A 19th century painting stands out, lady on a swingestimated at £15,000-£20,000, where the lady sits waiting for her lover; her nervousness represented by a stormy sky.

Then there is the Company School, a job created for British and French administrators who took over as the Mughal empire faded. This was “off the radar for a while,” says Carter, “but the last 10 years have definitely seen an increase in interest and value. The best pieces in that field are making seven figures.” Christie’s has a sheet of Fraser’s esteemed album (commissioned by the civil servant William Fraser in the 1810s), a compendium of flora and fauna, estimated at £60,000-£80,000. However, as with all corners of the countryside, the market can be quite “irregular” and “unpredictable,” Carter says, offering “wild price differentiation.” Sara Plumbly, head of Islamic and Indian art at Christie’s, also points out that some paintings in the Falk sale even have estimates of £400 – “absolutely a bargain,” she says.

Galloway has two miniatures for sale: a portrait of a musician, the size of five postage stamps, for £175,000, and a scene from the Hindu legend, the Ramayama, which is “a bit surreal, it’s fabulous” (£45,000) . . She points out that other auction houses like Bonhams, rosaberys and Chiswick Auctions (soon to have sales) are very active in “trading at the lower end of the market.” In fact, when it comes to value, she promises that charm truly trumps all, regardless of age, background, or artist name. “It is a painting that catches you, that you cannot pass without stopping or looking,” she decrees. She should know, since she collected them since she was a child.