"Nearly 25 years on, we are proud to stay true to the principles we started with"

We spoke to MINAL VAZIRANI, President and Co-founder of Saffronart, about the auction house, its 25th anniversary sale, and the Indian art market

- Jyotsna Sharma

How did Saffronart come about?

Saffronart was co-founded in 2000 by my husband, Dinesh, and myself, based on a business plan that I had written in business school. The premise was to address some of the challenges that we, as young art buyers, faced at that time, in the then somewhat informationally opaque market. Accurate and transparent pricing information and access to high-quality works were limited, and as first-time buyers, we often found ourselves struggling to estimate prices and acquire important works from shows, as auctions did not exist in India.

With Saffronart, we aimed to address these gaps. We were among the first globally to publish prices online and offer a level playing field, either through auctions or fixed-price online sales, for acquiring important modern and contemporary Indian art, setting new standards for transparency in the market. We also introduced innovative features such as comparable auction results, online condition reports, visual tools to help buyers gauge artwork dimensions, personalised dashboards to track lots of interest, and real-time updates on bids and top lots. Overall, Saffronart democratised access to pricing, information, and artworks, broadening the market in India and internationally.

Nearly 25 years on, we are proud to stay true to the principles we started with— championing transparency, driving innovation, and contributing to the growth and longevity of the Indian art market and leading that market as a strong and successful international business.

In your opinion, how has the Indian art market evolved over the last couple of years?