manhole in auction house

The commonplace cast-iron manhole covers bearing an impression of the master plan of Chandigarh city by Le Corbusier are fetching lakhs abroad. Paris-based auction house, Artcurial, sold one such piece for 17,851 Euros (Rs 10.87 lakh) last week.


A total of 62 lots of heritage furniture items designed by the master architect and his cousin and associate Pierre Jeanneret were put up for grabs. The catalogue said that the manhole "reproduces the master plan of Chandigarh designed by Corbusier in 1951".

It went under the hammer with an estimated price of 15-000 to 20,000 Euros. As per the sale results declared on Sunday, a Table of Ministers by Corbusier got the highest price of 143,056 Euros (Rs 87.12 lakh).

Originating from the Palace of Ministers in Chandigarh, the table is made of teak wood and veneer, with removable tray into two parts forming on open angle, built on three legs like a 'corner.' Earlier, in June 2007, auction house Cristi's sold one such manhole cover, "molded with sand-cast relief depicting a map of Chandigarh as drawn by Le Corbusier and Chandigarh" for a whopping $ 21,600 at an auction held in Rockefeller Plaza, New York.

The manhole covers were put up on all streets in the first phase of Chandigarh in 50s and 60s by the administration but most of these have disappeared now. The total receipts from the auction titled 'Chandigarh Project 3' were 11, 62,056 Euros (Rs 7.07 crore).