This season our Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art department is delighted to present a series of auctions and events celebrating South Asian talent from across the continent.

From a charity auction raising money for 'Friendship', Bangladesh's second largest charity, to a non-selling exhibition celebrating the birth of Pakistan's greatest female artist Zubeida Agha, an exhibition of works by Irfan Cheema and our flagship sale on 22 November, discover phenomenal works from the 20th century to the present day in London, New Bond Street.

In the run up to this season of exhibitions and sales, we spoke to Specialist, Priya Singh, about her top picks coming under the hammer this November.

Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art

Maqbool Fida Husain, Untitled (Blue boy atop Nandini)

Husain is to South Asian Art what Amitabh Bachchan is to the silver screen. Dating from 1969, this painting is one of two oils on offer and is probably one of the most breath-taking works by Husain to be auctioned at Bonhams in recent years. A work from his early period, it encapsulates what it meant to Husain to be Indian. After the tumultuous years following Partition in 1947, which led to the creation of a Muslim Pakistan, Husain (a self-confessed Muslim), decided to remain in India. It was in the 1960s that he began depicting the Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, in his works to get closer to his roots. In this work, Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu and one of the most revered Indian deities, is depicted playing the flute seated atop Nandini, the cow created by Krishna from the left side of his body. The colour palette is subtle and the influence of Cubism is evident. Husain’s ability lay in fusing modern Western movements with traditional Indian imagery, elevating it in a manner previously unseen in Indian Art.

Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art

Sayed Haider Raza, Les Rochers

2022 marks the birth centenary of Sayed Haider Raza, a founding member of the Bombay Progressives. One of two works by the artist coming up for sale in November, Les Rochers, illustrates one of the most significant periods of Raza’s painterly career. He was liberated from the influence of the Parisian School after encountering the works of the American Abstract Expressionists during his travels to California, culminating in his practice becoming more gestural with looser brushwork. His genius, however, lay in his ability to take what he had learnt from the West and marry that to the themes and memories of his Indian sensibilities, forming a unique idiom that is unmistakably Raza.

Irfan Cheema: Transient & Timeless in Collaboration with Tanzara Gallery

Irfan Cheema, Still life with Oranges & Kashmir Shawl II

Irfan’s works transport one to a bygone era. His paintings are rich, vibrant, and deceptively intricate. Each work in this exhibition shares a common theme, however this painting stands out because it contains a porcelain jar, a nod to Irfan’s home of Shanghai where he has lived for over a decade. The jar was procured from Dongati Lu in Shanghai, an antique market that no longer exists; the market with its twisting streets and kiosks offered everything from propaganda posters, coins, porcelains, silver and potions to cure the incurable. Irfan successfully integrates two seemingly distinct cultures through iconic yet inconsequential objects, the jar and the shawl, reminding us how different cultures can co-exist and flourish together.

Friendship NGO: Celebrating 20 Years

James Earley, Tawid

I am enamoured by this work. James is a fantastic painter, and this work speaks to me directly because it illustrates how Friendship’s work in Bangladesh is bringing light and joy to numerous people. Tawid, the boy depicted in this work, is one of the children Friendship has helped. Born with Cerebral Palsy, he developed locomotor disability and was unable to stand. Subsequently, he was unable to go to school or play with his friends. Disability is frowned upon in Bangladesh and is seen as a curse for your family’s misgivings. Friendship’s physiotherapists visited Tawid regularly and he regained mobility, leading to a substantial improvement in his life. James’ hyper realistic painting captures Tawid’s beaming smile, which is both admirable and touching. It humanises the people we would like to help through this charity fundraiser.

Zubeida Agha: Celebrating an Extraordinary Career

Zubeida Agha, Untitled (Cityscape)

One of two paintings from the exhibition to be sold in our main auction, Cityscape is an extremely rare work by Agha dating from 1946. Painted a year before Partition, it survived unscathed despite the looting and riots that destroyed many of her works. Not only does it illustrate her abilities to enhance the two dimensionality of the canvas, but also hints at the vision that would eventually define her body of work. Here, the simplicity of the architectural forms suggests a mohalla, a neighbourhood familiar to her. The buildings are defined in a flattened, spatial relationship and are woven into a composite whole. The modulated tonal variations and colours suggest a continuity to the city, beyond the limits of the given space. What makes her such an enthralling artist and her works so compelling is that she was not influenced by other artists or trends, but rather was determined to forge her own path.

Browse and register to bid on bonhams.com