Osian's Auction Catalogue The Masterpieces Series | March 2010

OsiaN’s Web WOrld MirrOriNg sTreNgThs iN Our Web preseNce Unrivalled Knowledge, Research & Databases in key areas such as the Fine and Popular Arts of ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary India and Asia along with the Cinemas of India, Asia, Arab world, Europe and Hollywood. Vast existing Networks across population sections and all strata of India, various cultural disciplines, and countries spanning Asia and the Arab worlds. lOOkiNg iNTO The virTual WOrld Of osians.com The new beginnings in the virtual world will be a 5 fold synergized presence – Research Engines, Sales Rooms, never before seen Images, and thriving interactive communities centered around Indian, Asian and Arab Arts and World Cinema, all brought together under the world of osians.com , with a special focus on all our relationships – our partners, collaborators and alliances – the extended Osian’s family. Osian’s brings to the aficionado a wide range of art works to choose from. Our works span the following classifications: Antiquities (ANTQ), Modern and Contemporary Fine Arts (ARTS), Antiquarian and Contemporary Books (BOOK), Film publicity material & memorabilia from the earliest talkies of the 1930s to the present day cinema (CINE), Various unique crafted artifacts (CRFT), Rare Prints from all the major presses of India – from Kansaripara to Raja Ravi Varma, plus a host of diverse areas of interest from Magic to Travel to Advertising to Political propaganda (LITH), Antiquarian and Contemporary Photography from India and Asia (PHTO), Rare dolls, toys, arms & armor, amid many other artifacts of popular culture (POPC). The focus on the Osian’s Archive & Library Collection will entail in excess of 500,000 artworks and rare documents uploaded with detailed cross-referencing and PRECISE and DISCERNING answers so that appropriate RESEARCH can be conducted rather than just SEARCH. It will become the base of our educational thrust. osians.com envisages presenting to the world the largest visual and textual Archive on Indian Modern and Contemporary Fine Arts, Cinema, Popular Cultures, and Heritage. Collectively with Osian’s Center for Archiving, Research and Documentation (CARD) archive this will facilitate multi-disciplinary research and the cross-referencing of information. The rationale is to effectively share the existing collection representing a vast array of subjects, concepts, styles, mediums and periods from rare masterpieces to treasures from private collections. It is this inter-disciplinary and holistic nature of knowledge-building facilitated by Osian’s CARD, which gives it a unique edge over other libraries and archives devoted to the arts. Osian’s Interactive aims to be the most powerful expressive outlet for the students, connoisseurs, the artists, technicians, the collectors, actors, … the art and film fraternity in general, through its online communities. For the artists to exchange notes, we create a platform exclusively for their use, away from the eyes of the general reader. Another of the many platforms would be a uniquely designed forum for people looking for expert advice Most importantly we intend to take our time to do it right. For the first time in history there will be a connection and communication between artists and connoisseurs on a massive scale. Our job will be to craft this invaluable space in a responsible manner. WOrld Of OsiaN’s The ‘O’ of the website gives an insight into the world of Osian’s – its evolution thus far, its various divisions (the Auction House, Art Advisory Services, the Centre for Archiving, Research & Development (CARD), Osian’s- Cinefan (the Film Festival), the Publishing & Design division, Osian’s@VAMA and the Web World). Here the visitor will also learn about Osian’s present activities and about what can be expected from Osian’s in the days to come. Working behind the scenes is the Osian’s Web World team that dedicates its knowledge and experience to create and build this unique virtual world of Osian’s Connoisseurs of Art. Creating real world experience on the World Wide Web is what we started out with, Osian’s Web World’s sole purpose is to enable smooth navigation and user experience, making it easy to purchase, research or just experience Art. The experts specialize in Computer graphics, UI engines, synthetic languages, systems programming, networking... The team builds Osian’s virtual world – its navigation, its trust metrics, improving databases/caches, improved search functionality, with the sole purpose of rendering the virtual experience in the same hues and tones as the real Osian’s experience. With the launch of Osian’s Web World in April 2010, we complete the first phase – just the tip of the iceberg! Indeed Osian’s will then play host on the global platform at osians.com , to the students, collectors, connoisseurs and collaborators of Indian, Asian and Arab Arts and World Cinema on a daily 24 x 7 basis.