Christie’s second auction in India totalled Rs752.74 million ($12.09 million) with the works selling 90 per cent by lot and 97 per cent by value.

The December 11 sale, held at the Taj Palace hotel in Mumbai, was the highest total for any auction of modern and contemporary Indian Art in 2014, the auctioneer says.

Christie’s welcomed a multitude of new clients both online and in the room, an indication of their continuing success in India following a decade of market leadership in Indian art through international sales held in New York, London and Mumbai.

More than 70 per cent of the lots sold above their high estimates.

Buying came from India, Asia, the US and Europe, with the top lot of the sale, Tyeb Mehta’s Untitled (Falling Bull) selling online against competitive bidding for Rs175 million ($2.81 million).

This result confirmed the international appeal of top quality Indian art and the power of online bidding, says Christie’s.

The pre-sale events in New Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Mumbai attracted a high number of collectors and interest from both new and existing clients. A group of 10 contemporary works donated by the artists to benefit the New Delhi based Khoj International Artists’ Association, sold for a collective total of Rs190 million ($3.04 million).

Sonal Singh, Head of Department, at Christie's Mumbai said: “The results are an indication of the strong level of interest from clients who wish to buy exceptional works. The auction was sold 97 per cent by value, mirroring the results from our inaugural sale in India. Our cover lot, Tyeb Mehta’s (1925-2009) Untitled (Falling Bull) sold well above the estimate for Rs175.4 million and the list of the top ten reflects the interest from clients for works by the modern masters. I was particularly delighted to see the interest in the Tagore pocket book, which sold for four times its pre-sale estimate, the highest price for a manuscript sold in India.”