Finding value in carpets

A unique fundraiser collects a mixed bag of reactions including questions about potential investment-worthiness

To first get the controversial bits out of the way, some collectors have been aghast at what they’re calling a “travesty of art”, its “commodification” or “objectification”. One irate collector forwarded emails to a select group, asking, “Does this assail your sensibilities?” Others have taken the stand that any artistic intervention creates newer, more interesting values for artists to provide returns on the original investment. And the point of all this debate is carpets in limited editions created using artists’ canvases as references.

The concept of marrying art and craft is still novel in India, with only a few instances of artists working outside their mediums, mostly by way of limited edition prints, or serigraphy. M F Husain’s early career as a designer of nursery furniture has thrown up at least a few painted dolls and pieces of furniture that sell at a premium because of their rarity. (The value of a film hoarding painted by Husain, should you be able to locate one, can at best be imagined!) Even Anjolie Ela Menon has painted on furniture or worked in Murano glass, with success. Satish Gujral has made murals on buildings, some artists have painted sarees, or found objects, but there has been no consistent or, at least, volume-based commercialisation ranked by market forces.

That move now has been speared as part of the annual People For Animals fundraiser by politician and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi, whose earlier outings have included limited edition prints, oleographs and hand-painted tiles. This year, Gandhi, with young curator Garima Jain, has chosen to create limited edition carpets of New Zealand wool, hand-woven under the aegis of Fashion Design Council of India president and Carpet Export Promotion Council awardee Sunil Sethi. Each carpet comes in a limited edition of 20, of which one is “payment” for the artist, leaving 19 editions available for sale. (The exception is Husain, for whom there are only 10 editions, nine of which are for sale.) Each limited edition carpet will be accompanied by a certificate numbered and signed by the artist, and supported by a similar label at the back of each carpet.

As has been her practice, Gandhi opened the sale long before the actual date of the event (August 27-29 at The Lalit in New Delhi), so those looking for a bargain, or travelling, or residents elsewhere, can view or book their editions. Already, of the 550-odd carpets to be sold, about 150 have been booked, but the greater challenge is in locating a value for them in the future.

This evaluation is based on certain conditions: that the carpets, instead of being used as rugs on the floor, are showcased as art — that is, they are hung on a wall, or otherwise kept in a condition that will not cause them to deteriorate. This is unlikely to happen in all cases: those carpets created by the fashion fraternity are unlikely to rise commensurately in value, whereas those created by artists almost certainly will. Then, the painting chosen to convert into a carpet will impact its collectible value: portraits, for instance, will score over abstracts, while in the case of, say, Senaka Senanayake, whose foliage lends itself so well to a carpet design, chances of it being used as a carpet are much higher than, say, a Paresh Maity, or Manjit Bawa, which will inevitably be showcased on a wall and so have a higher value.

Clearly, those artists with a proven track record or are considered rising stars will deliver better returns. Already, some values have risen. Thotta Vaikuntam, for instance, started off being sold at Rs 75,000 each, but as soon as sales hit five editions, the organisers (at the artist’s request) raised the price to Rs 1.25 lakh.

The accompanying table looks at the investment value for each artist based on certain criterion: in the case of the carpets (mostly 5’x7’), the sale price is set; in the case of the paintings, the canvases are assumed on a size of 3’x4’, and indexed to an average price point. Is it worth owning a limited edition carpet over a more expensive original? Compare the price points and decide for yourself.

In addition to these artists, there are carpets by fashion designers Manish Arora, Madhu Jain, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Rohit Bal, each priced at Rs 35,000, great as “fun” buys, but unlike their artist peers, they are not likely to return gains on their investment. In a sense, they should be considered “usable art” and enjoyed on that basis alone.

These views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation with which the writer is associated.

kishoresingh_22@hotmail.com