Sotheby's to Auction Rare Indian and Southeast Asian Art

On September 18, Sotheby's will auction 118 lots of rare (and rarely at auction) Indian and Southeast Asian paintings, miniatures and objects. The group is expected to fetch a total of between $2.3 and $3.2 million. Sotheby's has experienced unusually high prices for traditional Indian art in recent years, as economic growth in India appears exponential, and young collectors turn from modern pieces to those artists' historical roots.

One highly anticipated lot is a museum-quality illustration that depicts a pair of ardent lovers, Krishna and Radha, characters from a 12th century poem. The illustration, seen above thanks to ArtDaily, is estimated at between $200,000 and $300,000.