Osian's Auction Catalogue India The Passionate Detachment | February 2001

18 As interest in modern Indian art grows, so does the art market - and with it the intricate problem of authenticating works of art. In this context, perhaps for the first time in the country, Osian’s has brought together a team of experts to look at individual works of art, and judge them for their authenticity. Osian’s established its Authentication & Certification Department in October 2000. Its first joint meeting of members was held on 18 & 19 November 2000. The following constituted the Inaugural Authentication Council for Modern Indian Art: GANDHY, Kekoo HALOI, Ganesh KEJARIWAL, Dr.Prakash LATH, Prof. Mukand PARIMOO, Prof.Ratan RAY, Dr.Pranabranjan TULI, Neville Ms.Kayan Marshall & Ms.Saloni Ghuwalewala provided technical advice on matters of conservation and restoration for paintings of modern Indian art on canvas & paper. The focus of this inaugural council was to scan and study all works of art earmarked for Osian’s auctions of art, where even the slightest doubt of authenticity could be raised, with special attention to paintings from the Bengal region, where the most rampant fraudulent practices are ongoing. Thereafter standardising the relevant criteria upon which a credible authentication process is based was to be initiated. Immense homework and rigorous preliminary work had been completed by Osian’s so as to make available a vast array of rare works for systematic examination, and the necessary documentation to help facilitate the process. Having access to HEART’s vast visual and textual archives on modern Indian art provided a major source of support and confidence at all stages. After two full days of analysing & discussing over 250 works of art (including creations by ’old’ modern masters, many of whose works have raised doubts regarding genuineness over the years, masters such as the three Tagores - Abanindranath, Gaganendranath and Rabindranath; Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, J.P.Gangooly, Ramkinkar Baij, Atul Bose, Hemendranath Mazumdar, Sailoz Mookherjea, Zainul Abedin, Somnath Hore, Gopal Ghose, Nikhil Biswas, K.H.Ara, F.N.Souza, and also oil on canvas works from the early anonymous Bengal-based artists and Kalighat School) we took decisions with a genuine respect for each other’s reservations, taking out any work of art which remained doubtful. All reasons, in favour or against authenticity were carefully noted down for future re- examination, if required. The experts first viewed the works individually, noting their observations on a standardised format, before sitting down to arrive at a consensus on which works were acceptable and which were not. The standards for acceptance were rigorous, where even the reasonable objection of one member (out of seven) was capable of denying the disputed work of art a place in Osian’s forthcoming auctions. The Process of Authentication It is a multi-faceted process, combining historical research, analysis of materials and methods, individual techniques & styles, and skilled aesthetic response. We would like to sketch here in brief the main criteria and parameters the process takes into account, so that art-lovers and connoisseurs may be able to form some idea of its nature and complexity. The parameters that characterize the process can also be referred to as ’thumb-rules’, since their application requires a delicate balance of science and art. Looking at them might help one to appreciate why the evaluation of authenticity often has an inbuilt element of uncertainty, especially where older, less historically documented works are concerned. The ‘thumb-rules’ 1. Material and method. This may be understood in terms of these questions: on what material the painting has been made, and with what it is made. The two often complement and set off each other, method implying the right material and vice versa. Thus, the use of oil calls for an adequate support material such as a canvas to hold and retain it. The ground is skillfully prepared, a primed surface, on which the image is created through colour. Grounds vary according to the kind of support being used. They also vary according to the custom and needs of an artistic tradition, and even, as today, an individual artist. Colour itself is an important variable here, since the kind of pigment & binder used and the manner in which those are prepared is, patently, an important material in the method employed by an artist. Historically, different periods and artistic traditions have differed in both the availability and the use of materials and methods. In association with research into past practice, a precise identification of materials and methods can, clearly, be a sound index for assessment of authenticity. 2. The Visual Element, or the Subject Matter . The above had to do with what the artist uses, or the form of a painting. We now come to what he makes: the content of his work, the image he creates. One of the major areas of knowledge drawn from the history of art, is the changing profile of subject matter over time and place. Images vary over culture, over periods within a culture, and often even over schools within a period. They might also vary within the career of a single artist - as we see more and more, given our greater emphasis on individualism. Consequently, we must be able to identify a changing chronological pattern or subject matter within the oeuvre of many artists. Art-historical knowledge serves as a tool for discriminating the genuine from the spurious. The more sophisticated and refined the knowledge, the better it is as a tool in this context. It should not however be forgotten that to speak of AUTHENTICITY & CERTIFICATION A Note by the Authentication Council