Auction introduction: The sale is led by one of the largest-known Bird and Mountain series murals by Jagdish Swaminathan, Homage to Solzhenitzyn, spanning 13.5 feet. Painted in 1973 and acquired by an American diplomat shortly thereafter, this triptych is a spectacular vista of the artist’s cosmos that illustrates kaleidoscopic rolling hills, birds and seed-like orbs set against a bright yellow sky, creating a true sense of joy and wonder. From the Estate of Bhupen Khakhar comes a set of two double-sided cut-outs by Khakhar in collaboration with Vaman Rao Khaire depicting Bollywood’s shining stars, Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha. Emblematic of Khakhar’s embeddedness in pop culture and his idiosyncratic painting style, the cut-outs were specially created and exhibited at the Tate Modern’s inaugural exhibition in 2001, Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis. The show explored artistic production in global, cosmopolitan cities such as Paris, New York, Vienna, Moscow, London, Lagos, Rios de Janeiro, Tokyo, and these stellar works were included in the Bombay/Mumbai section co-curated by Geeta Kapur and Ashish Rajadhyaksha. Another star lot of the sale is Journey of the Magi, a 1963 masterpiece by Jehangir Sabavala. Published across preeminent scholarship about the artist since 1966, this painting depicts an important symbol in Christianity and Zoroastrianism and is a key example of Sabavala’s expert handling of color and contour as he became interested in light and how to portray it. Among these works are highlights by South Asia’s most accomplished artists such as Oriental City, a lively 1958 landscape on masonite by Francis Newton Souza, Dhanraj Bhagat’s Shiva Dance, figurative works by Ganesh Pyne and Akbar Padamsee, an early, colorful work by Mohan Samant and a playful 1985 painting by Kattingeri Krishna Hebbar, Kites, formerly in The Times of India Group collection.