The sale of Chandigarh’s heritage furniture fetched a miserly £10,560 (Rs 8.96 lakh) when it came under the auctioneer’s hammer in London on Wednesday. The auction consisted of eight lots of furniture, including an Indian rosewood and leather desk, a teak and cane chair and library chairs, all designed by Le Corbusier’s Swiss cousin and architect and designer Pierre Jeanneret.

Pre-sale estimates were that the items would fetch at least £40,000 (Rs 33.95 lakh), but in the event five out of the eight lots remained unsold. Bonhams the auctioneers put on a brave face about the sale, with a spokesman saying it went “reasonably well”. This was the second sale of its kind this year in Europe. An earlier sale in Paris of Jeanneret-designed furniture prompted inquiries from the Indian Embassy, just as the London sale led to inquiries from the Indian High Commission in then British capital.

The sold items included a teak, cane and rope settee from Jeanneret’s residence in Chandigarh, which fetched £2,640 (Rs 2.24 lakh). This was one of three pieces of furniture gifted by Jeanneret to his friends Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry in London. A pair of teak and wicker desk chairs went for £3,120 (Rs 2.65 lakh) and a rosewood and leather desk was sold for £4,800 (Rs 4.07 lakh). Unsold items include a magistrate’s chair, three Senate chairs and six library chairs.

Jeanerret was the cousin of Le Corbusier and assisted the latter in planning Chandigarh. He stayed in the city after its construction was completed and served as the Chief Architect.