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3d ago

Tyeb Mehta’s 'Rickshaw Puller' Sells for ₹69.1 Crore at Volte Una Debut

The sale sets a new auction high for Mehta and tests a single-lot, lower-fee model that the house says could change how major Indian works are marketed.

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“Wealthy Indians are finally realising that art is a serious asset class, and store of value,” said Tushar Jiwarajka, the auctioneer who made the sale. (2002 acrylic on canvas by modernist Tyeb Mehta)

Overview

  • Volte Una sold Tyeb Mehta’s 2002 acrylic 'Rickshaw Puller' for ₹69.1 crore in a single-lot auction held Monday, a sum the house reports includes a 15% buyer’s premium.
  • The auction used private international previews in Mumbai, New Delhi, New York, Dubai and London and a 12-hour online bidding window that opened at ₹33 crore, according to founder Tushar Jiwarajka.
  • The result surpasses Mehta’s prior auction record of ₹61.80 crore for 'Trussed Bull' set in April 2025 and places 'Rickshaw Puller' among the top-priced Indian works sold at auction in rupee terms.
  • Critics note the sale highlights Mehta’s long engagement with the rickshaw-puller motif as a symbol of labour, alienation and bondage, a theme that anchors his late-career works and museum-grade appeal.
  • Volte Una says it will hold another single-lot sale at the end of November featuring an M.F. Husain from the Herwitz Collection and argues the format and lower fees could cut transaction costs and shift collector behavior.