In this Photo taken Monday, Dec. 16, 2013, a visitor walks in a gallery during a media preview of Christie's first auction in India. Christie's holds its first art auction in India on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013 aiming to tap into a budding market for prestige purchasing among the country's fast-growing ranks of millionaires despite an economic slowdown. While overall Indian growth has been stalling, the number of people worth $1 million or more is expanding and they show no signs of slowing their spending, fueling double-digit growth in the luxury market for the past five years. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
December 18, 2013 - 9:11 PM
MUMBAI, India - Christie's is holding its first art auction in India, aiming to tap into a budding market for prestige purchasing among the country's fast-growing ranks of millionaires.
The inaugural sale Thursday of 83 lots in the financial hub of Mumbai features paintings from the private collection of one of India's first families of contemporary art as well as pieces from six of the nine Indian artists deemed "national treasures" whose works cannot leave the country. It is expected to total $6 million to $8 million.
Christie's sees the relatively underdeveloped art market in Asia's third-largest economy as fertile ground for growth as part of its international expansion that has included recent auctions in China and the Middle East.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013