new delhi an exhibition in delhi and then an auction in mumbai are being planned to revalue indias heritage art and make it a part of popular culturetheres johann zoffanys colonel mordaunts cockmatch in lucknow 1794 auction price starting rs 3 lakh to rs 4 lakh r ker porters last defence of seringapatnam by tipu sultan 1803 priced between rs 2 and 3 lakh from sorabji jehangirs princes chiefs of india a set of 83 photographs 1903 priced between rs 12 and rs 14 lakhall these are a collectors dream and theyve been readied for the august exhibition in new delhi which will take you on a visual journey of indias pursuit for freedom a historical epic india in the making 17571950auction house osians is eager to change the way people perceive art this would be art which attracts people and gets talked about says neville tuli chairman of osians there are rare books photographs engravings modern and contemporary art vintage posters songsynopsis booklets etc from the period beginning 1757 to 1950 all these works would have been forgotten i dont want heritage art to depreciate therefore we have to keep evaluating it adds tuliin fact financial dimension is most important in determining how valuable a piece of art or collectible is weve priced the auction items via the network of dealerscollectorsgalleries he said the idea of this auction is to link indian history to art forms however the profile of the buyer at such auctions remains a mysterythe buyer could be anybody with money someone who understands and values history may not be your buyer says art critic and commentator gayatri sinhalearning history has little to with an auction all an auction does is create awareness about historic art pieces she saidtill now art auctions in india have been dealing in contemporary art in fact people have been going abroad to participate in auctions they bid over the phone this trend is interesting says artist shamshad husain m f husains son but can auctions make heritage art more valuable theres documentation listing of prices of items auctioned and public knowledge said sinha for example in this auction it would be interesting to see who buys pre1950 artworks some of which are highly priced sometimes historic artwork just decays the truth is auctions dont discover art he said