Model of Gandhi's London statue up for auction

A model of a statue of Indian independence campaigner Mahatma Gandhi that sits in a central London square could fetch thousands of pounds when it goes under the hammer at an auction next week.

The bronze model, which is 27cm tall, is described as the earliest complete vision of the statue that has been in Tavistock Square in Bloomsbury since 1968.

The statue and its models - which show Gandhi wearing robes and sitting cross-legged - were created by Polish sculptor Fredda Brilliant, who died in 1999 at the age of 96.

Experts said the maquette could sell for more than its listed price of £6,000 to £8,000. It will be auctioned at Woolley & Wallis's art sale on Thursday.

Woolley & Wallis specialist Victor Fauvelle said Brilliant had a "growing reputation".

At a 2019 sale of 44 lots of her work, the sculptor's second model of Gandhi was bought by a private collector for £65,000, the auctioneer said.

"Given Fredda's growing reputation and the fierce bidding we've seen for her Gandhi works in the past, the emergence of this first maquette from a private London collection is significant," Mr Fauvelle said.

"It offers collectors an exceptional chance to secure the piece that set one of Fredda's most internationally recognised monuments and sculpture in motion."

In September the statue of Gandhi in Tavistock Square was vandalised - the Indian government demanded "immediate action" to find the perpetrators.

"This is not just vandalism, but a violent attack on the idea of non-violence," the Indian High Commission said in a post on X, calling it "shameful".

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