A 19th-century masterpiece by Raja Ravi Varma has sold for a record $17.9 million at an auction in Mumbai, setting a new benchmark for Indian art and underscoring its growing global value. The oil-on-canvas painting, Yashoda and Krishna, was auctioned by Saffronart on Wednesday, far exceeding its estimated price of $8.6 million to $12.9 million. The work — depicting the Hindu deity Krishna with his mother Yashoda — is now the highest-priced modern Indian artwork ever sold at auction, as well as the most expensive Ravi Varma painting globally. The painting was acquired by industrialist and vaccine tycoon Cyrus Poonawalla after an intense bidding contest.
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