Murrays Auction House / Murray & Co in Chennai : 100-Year-Old & Largest Auction House in India | For Antiques, Art, Furniture, Vintage Collectibles & Jewellery | A Complete Visitor’s Guide to Live & Online Auctions – History, Auction Schedule & Timings, Catalog Details, Bidding Process & Contact Details – Ultimate Guide to Buying Antique Furniture, Fine Art & Curios in Chennai
– everything you need to know before bidding at chennai’s most iconic auction house
Murray & Co, fondly known as Murrays, is a 100-year-old and the largest auction house in South India, founded in 1927 in Chennai. Its origins carry a quiet historical significance: Murrays was established specifically to fill the void left by Dowden & Co, the last British auction house in Madras, when it shut down and returned to the UK.
That moment was more than a business transition; it was a direct handover of legacy from colonial commerce into Indian hands, and Murrays has honoured that trust ever since. Over the decades, the firm has called three iconic Chennai addresses home: Thambu Chetty Street opposite the Madras High Court (1927–2014), a brief but important chapter in Mandaveli (2012–2014), and its current home at the Ground Floor of Gemini Towers on Anna Salai, where it has been since 2015. 
The name Murrays is widely known among antique & art lovers, furniture collectors, interior designers, and curious wanderers for nearly a century. An auction house, a living, breathing archive of Chennai’s commercial and cultural history, and every Sunday, its doors open to let you walk right into it.
Murrays is far more than a marketplace. It is an institution that has shaped how Chennai thinks about value, both monetary and cultural. At its core, Murrays is an auctioneering and valuation firm that handles an extraordinarily wide range of items.
From antique furniture and fine art to industrial machinery, unclaimed cargo, office equipment, land, buildings, jewellery, and household goods, if something has value, Murrays has auctioned it. Their custom-built auction management software handles the complete process of sales, tenders, and valuations, making them one of the most technically sophisticated auction houses in India.
Beyond retail auctions, Murrays also handles court-mandated and industrial auctions through their own proprietary online platform, with digital offerings for collectibles and retail continuing to expand, ensuring that this century-old institution remains as relevant and accessible today as it has always been.
Today, Murrays is led by two partners who bring complementary strengths to this storied institution. Mr. Hemant Srivatsa, a Mechanical Engineer and MBA, is the heart of the auction floor, a warm storyteller with an encyclopaedic knowledge of artefacts and provenance, whose family connection to Murrays now spans three generations. Mr. S. Sujan Gangadhar, equally qualified, is the strategic mind driving Murrays into the digital age, having pioneered the firm’s proprietary online auction platform.
Auction Timings at Murrays / Murray & Co
Every Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, their auction rooms at Gemini Towers open to the public, offering an eclectic mix of antique furniture, fine art, vintage collectibles, curios, jewellery, office equipment, household appliances, and even land and property. The Sunday auctions have drawn between 100 and 150 visitors every single week for over nine decades, from 25-year-old first-time collectors to seasoned 80-year-old connoisseurs.
Schedule of Murray & Co / Murrays Auction
https://www.murrays.in/murraysonline/MurraysIn/Schedules.php
History of Murrays / Murray & Co
To understand Murrays, you have to go back to the 1920s, a Madras that was still under British influence, navigating the slow transfer of colonial commerce into Indian hands.
The last functioning British auction house in the city, Dowden & Company, operated out of Broadway in what is now known as Parrys Corner. When Dowden & Co wound up and returned to the UK, it left behind a significant vacuum. The Government of India and the Madras High Court both recognised an urgent need for a reliable, trustworthy auctioneer, particularly for court-mandated sales involving liquidation, partition of estates, and immovable property.
That need was answered on 10th February 1927, when Shri S. Vedantam and his brother Shri S. Rajam founded Murray and Company. Their first office was a modest space on Thambu Chetty Street, directly opposite the Madras High Court, a location chosen deliberately for its proximity to the courts they would serve.
The early years were focused and purposeful. Murrays carved out a reputation for handling immovable property auctions with efficiency, fairness, and legal precision, qualities that made them indispensable to the courts of Madras. Then came 1930, and everything changed.
Shri Rajam opened the auction rooms at the Old Masonic Lodge on Mount Road in Anna Salai, a landmark building that later became a Life Insurance Corporation office before being demolished. It was here that Murrays began hosting its now-legendary Sunday auctions, where artefacts, curios, quality furniture, and collectibles went under the hammer each week. That tradition, born nearly a century ago, continues without interruption to this day.
Significance & Cultural Impact of Murrays
There is a philosophy embedded in how Murrays operates, one that feels deeply Indian in its soul. In a culture where objects carry memory, where a grandmother’s brass lamp or a father’s wooden writing desk holds emotional weight far beyond its market price, Murrays serves as the bridge between one life and the next. They do not just sell things. They find things their second home.
For Chennai’s design and creative community, the Sunday auction at Murrays has long been a pilgrimage. Interior designers hunting for statement pieces, architects sourcing period furniture, young collectors building their first curated spaces, they all find their way here. The auction hall is as much a social gathering as it is a commercial event.
People Behind the Podium, Insider Insights
Walk into a Murrays Sunday auction and you will likely find Shri. Hemant Srivatsa at the teakwood podium, composed, warm, and utterly at home. He has an encyclopaedic memory for the provenance of objects and the rare gift of making every item feel like it has a story worth waiting for. Sujan Gangadhar, his partner, keeps one eye on the room and another on the horizon. He is candid about where the world is heading: “Online auctions, e-auctions are the way to go. People don’t have the time to sit through an auction anymore. They want specifics, they want to save time.”
The physical auction experience is irreplaceable. There is something about being in the room, the rhythm of the auctioneer’s voice, the electric pause before a final bid, the collective exhale when the hammer falls, that no screen can fully replicate.
It is this blend of legal rigour, cultural passion, and human warmth that makes Murrays genuinely unlike any auction house you will find anywhere else in India. Hemant Srivatsa’s father had joined Murrays as an employee in 1956, rose to become a partner, and retired in 2002. Today, Hemant leads the firm, and his own son is now involved in daily operations, a living, three-generation family bond with one institution that speaks volumes about the culture of dedication Murrays carries in its DNA.
Tips to Take Part in the Murrays Auctions – A Visitor’s Guide to Auctions
Walking into a Murrays Sunday auction costs you absolutely nothing. There is no entry fee, no registration, no obligation to bid — you are welcome to simply walk in, soak in the atmosphere, and let the objects speak to you. If you want to be prepared before auction day, Murrays opens its doors every Saturday for a full preview, giving you the chance to browse, inspect, and get up close with every item before it goes under the hammer on Sunday. The auction begins at 11:00 AM every Sunday, but seasoned visitors will tell you — arrive by 10:00 AM. That one hour makes all the difference. It gives you time to re-examine the pieces you spotted on Saturday, pick up a catalogue, find a good seat, and settle into the rhythm of the room before the auctioneer takes the podium.
At the entrance of the auction hall, you will be handed a catalogue listing every item available that day, each assigned a unique lot number. This is your most important tool inside the room. Every product on the floor is tagged with its lot number, so as the auctioneer calls them out one by one, you know exactly which piece is up for bid and when your moment is coming. Study the catalogue, circle what interests you, and walk in with a plan.
A Few Handy Tips Before You Visit for Murrays Auctions House
- Free entry, always — no ticket, no prior booking required for Sunday auctions
- Visit on Saturday first to inspect items, check condition, and shortlist what you want to bid on
- At the entrance on Sunday, collect your catalogue — it lists every item with its lot number
- Note the lot numbers of pieces you want during your Saturday visit so you are ready when they come up
- Arrive by 10:00 AM on Sunday — the auction starts at 11:00 AM sharp and the room fills up quickly
- Bring cash or confirm accepted payment modes before bidding
- Have a budget in mind — the energy of a live auction room makes impulse bidding very tempting
Bid Online at Murrays Auction
For those who can’t make it to the Auction House directly in person, Murrays also offers a convenient online bidding platform. You can register and participate in live auctions remotely by visiting:
https://biddingroom.murrays.in/murrays/sign-in
Travel Tips for Visiting Murray & Co / Murrays – Auction House, Chennai :
Address of Murray & Co / Murrays, Chennai:
Furniture & Curios Department
Ground Floor, Gemini Towers,
No.601, Anna Salai,
Chennai – 600 006.
Phone: +91(44) 2821-2437, +91 (44) 2821-0881
E-Mail: furn@murrays.in
Website: www.murrays.in
Working Days:
Inspection Day: Saturday Timings: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Auction Day: Sunday Timings: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Holiday: All Friday
Auction Schedule:
https://www.murrays.in/murraysonline/MurraysIn/Schedules.php
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