CHANDIGARH, July 19 — Two sets of heritage furniture from Chandigarh, designed by renowned Swiss architect Pierre Jeanneret, were auctioned in the United States for ₹18.56 lakh on Wednesday, sparking outrage from heritage activists who say the sale violated India’s export restrictions.
Ajay Jagga, a member of the UT Administration’s Heritage Items Protection Cell, said the furniture — including a desk-chair set, a file rack, and a pair of nightstands — was auctioned by Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) on July 17 against a reserve price of ₹29.23 lakh.
Jagga revealed that the Indian Embassy in San Francisco had been informed in advance about the auction and urged to intervene. However, despite the alert, two of the three items were sold.
“I had submitted a detailed representation to Dr K Srikar Reddy, Consul General, Indian Embassy, San Francisco, on July 14, but there was no visible attempt to halt or contest the auction,” Jagga said.
The Chandigarh Administration has long been battling the illegal sale of furniture designed by Jeanneret and Le Corbusier, originally created for the city’s government institutions in the 1950s and 60s. In 2011, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) banned the movement of these heritage items outside the country.
“Given this ban, these articles appear to have been smuggled out of India,” Jagga said, adding, “Such auctions can only be stopped through timely and firm diplomatic channels.”
Despite several high-profile sales in international markets over the years, activists continue to push for stronger enforcement to prevent further loss of Chandigarh’s modernist legacy.
