A doctor who bought two East Indian sculptures from Christie’s for $111,324 claims that when he tried to resell them, the auction house refused — now citing authenticity issues.
Dr. Sandran Waran, a pediatric neurologist from Morristown, NJ, is suing Christie’s in Manhattan federal court to recoup what he paid in 2005 and 2007 for a 12th-century blackstone stele of Vishnu and 11th-century sandstone figure of Uma.
“I find it interesting that they had no compulsion in validating provenance when selling the pieces but when it’s time to [resell] . . . through them, they have some kind of trepidation in reaffirming the provenance,” said Waran’s lawyer Darren Oved.
Christie’s said it has the right to decline pieces that don’t abide by “updated internal requirements of documentary proof.”
The Vishnu was in a “Boston collection,” the Uma in an “English collection,” the suit says.