2 min readChandigarhMar 29, 2026 11:08 PM IST
A pair of Chandigarh heritage chairs fetched €9,500 (approximately Rs 10.36 lakh) at an auction house in Milan on March 25, triggering fresh concerns over the overseas sale of the city’s modernist legacy and prompting a renewed plea to the Rajya Sabha for regulatory intervention.
As per advocate Ajay Jagga, member of Heritage Items Protection Cell, the chairs, attributed to Swiss-French architect and designer Pierre Jeanneret, were listed as a pair of wooden armchairs (model PJ-SI-29-A) with cane seat and backrest, originally part of administrative office furniture in Chandigarh and produced in India in 1956.
In a communication, dated March 29, to the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha, Chandigarh-based Advocate Jagga flagged the auction as part of a continuing trend of the city’s heritage articles being sold abroad “without any resistance from the Government of India or its missions”.
Copies of the representation were also marked to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, and the Indian Embassy in Rome. Jagga has urged the formulation of specific rules to prevent such heritage items particularly those less than 75 years old from being exported or auctioned internationally, said Jagga.
Citing Article 49 of the Constitution, he argued that while there is a mandate to protect objects of national importance, the absence of a clear framework for modern heritage has created a legal gap.
Currently, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) does not classify such furniture as “antiquities”, limiting its scope to intervene in such cases, Jagga said.
Calling for diplomatic efforts to halt ongoing auctions, Jagga also sought the retrieval of such items, alleging that many were taken out of India illegally.
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Over the years, Chandigarh’s iconic mid-century furniture has repeatedly surfaced in international auctions, particularly in the United States and across Europe, raising concerns over the outflow of the city’s design heritage.
Advocate Jagga said that pieces attributed to Pierre Jeanneret and other collaborators have been sold through prominent auction houses, often fetching high prices. These items, originally designed for government buildings and public institutions, have gradually entered private hands abroad.
