Indian memorabilia fetches over 200,000 pounds at UK auction

Rare Indian memorabilia comprising Mahatma Gandhi's most prized possessions, historical documents and artefacts have been auctioned in the UK for about 212,500 pounds, fetching "considerably more" than the expected price.
The sale of items by Mullock's auction house this week in Shropshire included Gandhi's over eight-decade old mobile 'charkha' that he used in Yerwada Jail during the 'Quit India Movement' which went for a hefty 110,000 pounds.
In all, 516 items were auctioned off out of which 246 were Indian. The 246 items fetched 212,499 pounds out of which 149,485 pounds were collected from the sale of Gandhi memorabilia alone.

"The items fetched considerably more than the expected price. The amazing thing about this auction was that almost all the Indian items up for sale were bought by Indian buyers, settled in the UK, the US or India, so the items went back to where they came from," the auction house's specialist Richard Westwood-Brookes told PTI.
On being asked if Gandhi's famed charkha was bought by an Indian, Brookes said, "the buyer wishes to remain anonymous."
"What I can say is that he is not British, he is not American," he said.

Mullock's put under the hammer about 60 of Gandhi's most prized possessions, including important documents, photographs and books.

Other important Gandhi memorabilia that was auctioned included his last will that was sold for 20,000 pounds and a personally signed picture of the leader that fetched 6,000 pounds.
The sale also included a number of historic items related to the Sikh and the Mysore Kingdom.
Among the prominent Indian memorabilia to be sold apart from those related to Gandhi included an Islamic Persian School watercolour painting dated about 17th century in original cloth mount sold for 16,000 pounds.
Other notable sales included a fascinating archive of Sikh related seals, letters and documents, an early account dating to 1805 of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, the Lion of Punjab, and a rare miniature Koran printed for Muslim soldiers who fought alongside allied forces in the First World War.

"There has been a considerable increase in the interest of buyers for items from the British Raj. We have been holding such sales for the past four years and the interest has increased over the years," Brookes said.