{"id":1552,"date":"2026-04-11T18:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T18:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/?p=1552"},"modified":"2026-04-11T19:35:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T19:35:21","slug":"displayed-the-painting-value-at-%e2%82%b9167-2-crore-18-million-approx-at-showkeen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/displayed-the-painting-value-at-%e2%82%b9167-2-crore-18-million-approx-at-showkeen\/","title":{"rendered":"Displaying the painting \u2014 $18 million at ShowKeen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday evening marked a rare encounter with legacy and artistic excellence. Yashoda and Krishna by Raja Ravi Varma\u2014recently valued at a record-breaking \u20b9167.2 crore (approx. $18 million)\u2014was presented at ShowKeen at Nehru Centre, Mumbai. It offered a remarkable opportunity to engage with a work distinguished by its provenance, profound cultural significance, and enduring relevance.<\/p>\n

\"Cyrus-Poonawalla-Yashoda-and-Krishna-by-Raja-Ravi-Varma-record-breaking-\u20b9167\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla with the iconic Yashoda and Krishna by Raja Ravi Varma<\/p>\n

The painting\u2019s sale marks a historic milestone in the Indian art market. Held on April 1, 2026, at Saffronart\u2019s Spring Live Auction in Mumbai, it achieved the highest price ever paid for an Indian artwork at auction.<\/p>\n

This landmark result surpassed the previous record of \u20b9118 crore set by Untitled (Gram Yatra) by M. F. Husain, establishing a new benchmark in the country\u2019s art history. Originally estimated at \u20b980\u2013120 crore, the masterpiece far exceeded expectations following an intense seven-minute bidding battle.<\/p>\n

\"Yashoda-and-Krishna-by-Raja-Ravi-Varma-record-breaking-\u20b9167.2-crore-$18-million-approx\"<\/p>\n

Yashoda and Krishna, 35×28.2 inches, Oil on Canvas by Raja Ravi Varma, Circa 1890s<\/p>\n

Painted in the 1890s, the work was commissioned by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III for the Baroda court. It beautifully portrays the tender, mythological bond between Mother Yashoda and the child Krishna, rendered through Varma\u2019s distinctive fusion of Indian themes with European oil painting techniques.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The buyer, Cyrus Poonawalla, has expressed his intention to make this \u201cnational treasure\u201d accessible to the public, with plans to display it at his residences in Mumbai or Pune.<\/p>\n

If you are in Mumbai, this is an exhibition not to be missed.
\nOn view at Nehru Centre, Dr Annie Besant Rd, Worli, Mumbai
\n11\u201312 April 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday evening marked a rare encounter with legacy and artistic excellence. Yashoda and Krishna by Raja Ravi Varma\u2014recently valued at a record-breaking \u20b9167.2 crore (approx. $18 million)\u2014was presented at ShowKeen at Nehru Centre, Mumbai. It offered a remarkable opportunity to engage with a work distinguished by its provenance, profound cultural significance, and enduring relevance. Dr. … Continue reading Displaying the painting \u2014 $18 million at ShowKeen<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[4,423,480,8,425,440,484,9,483,482,479,481],"class_list":["post-1552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-painting-exhibition","tag-ananta-mandal","tag-astaguru","tag-cyrus-poonawalla","tag-indian-art","tag-modern-indian-art","tag-mumbai-art-exhibition","tag-nehru-centre-mumbai","tag-painting","tag-poonawalla","tag-raja-ravi-varma","tag-showkeen","tag-yashoda-and-krishna"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1552"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1561,"href":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552\/revisions\/1561"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anantamandal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}