A tinsel garland, presented to and worn by Mahatma Gandhi during the historic Dandi March of the Indian freedom struggle in 1930, remains available for bidding after failing to reach its estimated guide price of £20,000–30,000 at a UK auction this week.
The garland, enclosed in folded paper wrappers inscribed in Gujarati, is believed to have been presented during the Salt March as it passed near the Ahmedabad residence of Gandhi’s personal physician, Dr Balvantrai N Kanuga. It was reportedly offered by his wife, Nanduben Kanuga.
The item was featured in an ‘Islamic and Indian Art’ auction held by Lyon & Turnbull in London on Wednesday.
According to Kristina Sanne, Head of Sale at the fine arts and antiques auction house, “I am very surprised that the ‘Gandhi Garland’ did not find a home on the day of the auction.”
“That said, we have had quite a lot of interest since the sale and hope to sell it to the highest bidder. It deserves a great home,” she said.
A large teardrop-shaped medallion of pink cloth, backed on card, is used to create the garland. It is embellished with sequins and thread in an intricate design of gold and silver. It has a gold tinsel border and it has two triangular medallions and four smaller rectangular medallions that are all joined by gold threads to make a necklace.
It was inherited from the late Dr Balvantrai N Kanuga’s collection. He and his wife were fellow satyagrahis who spent a lot of time at Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram. The words “Gandhiji Nanduben Kanuga” are written on the reserve with an amateur photo of Gandhi receiving the garland. On March 12, 1930, the day of the Dandi March, at Bungalow.
“This garland was presented to Gandhi to mark an auspicious beginning to the Salt March, a major non-violent protest in India in March-April 1930,” according to the information with the auction lot. One of the most successful attempts in Gandhi’s struggle for Indians’ freedom and equal rights under British rule was the Salt March.
“Starting at his ashram (religious retreat) at Sabarmati (near Ahmedabad), the march reached Dandi after a journey of some 240 miles. On the morning of April 6, Gandhi and his followers picked up handfuls of salt from along the seashore. In so doing, they technically ‘produced’ salt and broke the law,” the literature read.
The garland is claimed to have been given back to the Kanugas following the march and a photograph of it shows Nanduben Kanuga putting it around Gandhi’s neck.
The footnote states, “A few weeks later, Dr Kanuga furthered the cause by paying 1600 Rupees for the grains of salt that Gandhi had made at Dandi.”
The auction saw intense bidding for its other highlight pieces, with a very appealing illustration from a Bhagavata Purana series from Punjab getting under the hammer for GBP 27,700, above its estimated value of GBP 15-20,000.
However, the garland remained unsold. An album of Kalighat paintings sold for GBP 21,420, while a collection of six Rajput equestrian portraits from Rajasthan sold for more than they had anticipated at GBP 20,160.
“Over 90% of the Indian Art segment was sold after intense bidding throughout. A true indication of the Indian art market’s resilience,” Sanne remarked.
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