deRivaz & Ives to auction top-quality art by the Progressives and Zaheer Vakil’s famous Historic Vehicles Collection
Guwahati: Following deRivaz & Ives successful inaugural online auction on 22 January 2022, it will hold two further online sales “Progressives & other Modern Masters” (8-9 March) and the “Vintage & Classic Automobile Collection of Zaheer Vakil” (11-12 March).
A dozen of the carefully curated cars from the highly reputable collection will be on offer for the discerning enthusiast looking out for pedigreed, high-quality, and beautifully restored automobiles from yester year. One of the most pre-eminent and highly respected luminaries of the historic vehicle movement in India, Zaheer Vakil’s enviable collection of exceptional automobiles, ranging from the 1920s to the 1990s, is known across India. This collection has a fine reputation for being selective and tasteful, with almost all the cars restored to a very high level of quality and authenticity.
Amongst the earliest cars he bought, one was a 1947 Buick Super Convertible which was owned by Digvirendrasinghji Solanki, from the princely family of Vansda (Gujarat). This car triggered a passion for Buicks, and over the years Zaheer Vakil acquired more than a dozen of them over the years earning him the moniker – the “Buick Man of India”.
A very rare 1947 Buick Roadster Convertible Coupe (Lot12), previously from the Collection of the Raja of Chamba is offered in this auction; it is expected to cross the fifty lakhs price tag.
All the Vakil Family cars are exceptionally well restored and are all proper runners in fine mechanical nick. None of the cars are recent restorations of the “restore-to-sell” type, and thus there are no superficially finished automobiles on offer. Most of the cars are older restorations, executed meticulously, with the desire to retain them in the longer term.
All the cars on offer come with a complete set of papers. None of the cars are imports–all are of Indian provenance, most with well-documented histories, some with exceptional origins and stories with them.
The Opening Auction Preview for this rare Collection is at the Vakil’s Pune estate on 5th March 2022.
The Fine Arts “Progressives & the Modern Masters” Online auction offers some of the finest artworks by artists such as M.F.Husain, S.H.Raza, F.N.Souza, K.H.Ara, V.S.Gaitonde, Tyeb Mehta, Bhupen Khakhar, Nasreen Mohamedi, Prabhakar Barwe, among others.
The Highlights include a magnificent, early (c.1953) oil on canvas painting by V.S. Gaitonde during his figurative phase; the powerful Horses Series of the early 1970s by M.F.Husain; two beautiful K.H.Ara Still Life paintings purchased by the Rajpipla Royal Family in 1967 directly from the artist; two important 1971-72 period S.H.Raza paintings – La Terre & Paysage, offered during his Centenary year.
A beautiful little Bhupen Khakhar painted in 1980, the year he decides to publicly and boldly come out of the closet with his homosexuality and a Tyeb Mehta from his 1976 Gesture series which starts after the end of his famous Diagonal Series.
Nasreen Mohamedi’s famous geometric Ink & graphite drawing from the 1980-85 period represents the finest and most significant ink drawing on paper in the auction.
The auctions are to be held online on www.derivaz-ives.com. The ARTS Auction begins on the 8th March, and the Vintage Automobiles auction starts on 11th March 2022.