Vibrant hand-painted posters and eye-catching colourful LPs went under the hammer in November, as vintage Bollywood memorabilia made its mark at one of London’s newest auction houses, Conferro Auctions.
Celebrating the centenary of Bollywood, the auction featured collectables such as LPs, film banners and posters from some of the milestones of Indian film history, including Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and Sholay (1975), which were recently voted the top two greatest Bollywood films of all time.
Decade by decade, this collection is an ode to the music and creativity of an industry which contributes to the worldwide box office of cinema goers of the diaspora and beyond.
The collection included vintage classics like Mughal-e-Azam, Mother India, Awara, and cult classics like Sholay, Jugnu and the original Don; capturing the eternal magic of Indian cinema, which has resonated the world over; with colourful song and dance and hand painted artwork.
“A hundred years on and Bollywood has become such an ingrained part of our cultural identity, with interest in Hindi cinema continuing to increase. Our first auction reflects this growing interest in our nation’s rich and vibrant history and artistic practice” said Conferro Auctions” Founder, Sharan Seth.
Indian cinema has now become one of the world’s largest film industries since the debut of its first official film on 3 May 1913, Raja Harishchandra by Dadasaheb Phalke. The industry itself is now producing 1,000 films a year, twice the annual output of Hollywood, and the stars of its silver screen are internationally renowned.
It was no surprise then that collectors from across the world including the UK, Holland, India, Spain and even as far afield as Australia, eagerly bid for their chance to own unique vintage memorabilia from one of India’s most celebrated exports.
The auction even attracted one of India’s richest businessmen, Gopichand Hinduja, as well as leading Indian art collector, Kamal Fabiani.
Over 80 per cent of lots were sold at auction achieving more than £100,000, setting a precedent for the Indian art and collectables market in London
Commenting on the auction results, Sharan Seth, Founder of Conferro Auctions, said: “The auction was a celebration of India’s cinematic heritage and heralds a new era for the Indian art and collectables market in the UK. We are overwhelmed with the support we have received from existing collectors and a new generation of buyers, reflecting the increasing appetite for vintage Bollywood memorabilia across the world”.
The colour of many of these posters are not only eye catching, but also essential to their popularity.
The late MF Hussain, one of India’s top artists, began his work with Bollywood posters and very few of the vintage posters have actually survived. This is something that makes this auction so unique.
For more information: www.conferroauctions.com
