Mrs. Sandhya Jain-Patel, MS, MA, AAA Certified

USPAP compliant through:

09/27/2026

Specialization(s)

Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Pre-Modern Art

Member Type

Certified Member

Service(s)

Insurance; Charitable Donation; Estate Tax Liability; Equitable Distribution

Appraiser's Statement

Sandhya Jain-Patel is an expert in the care and collection, and appraising, of fine art. Previously she was the Executive Director for Wrightwood 659, a private arts space in Chicago, which exhibited Trace by Ai Weiwei. Before then, Mrs. Jain-Patel was the Head of the Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art Department at Christie's New York, where under her guidance, her team were responsible for appraising, marketing and selling fine art from the Gandharan period up to the early 20th century. During her tenure at Christie’s, the department set multi-million dollar records across the category, and handled some of the most important collections, including the Pal Family Collection, and the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection. Mrs. Jain-Patel was instrumental in identifying a lost Indian court painting by Nainsukh of Guler which sold for $1.6 million in 2008, in bringing the Doris Wiener Collection to auction in March 2012 which achieved $12.7 million, and in winning the Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, which made $134 million in March 2015.

Prior to joining Christie’s, Mrs. Jain-Patel spent a year in India on a Fulbright Scholarship, studying the materials and techniques of handmade paper and Indian court paintings, and their conservation in both the public and private sectors. She has worked previously as a fine arts conservator and research scientist at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and also at the Judith Eisenberg Textile Conservation Studios. Her publications include "Research and Treatment of a 15th century Nepalese Thangka," and "Innovations in the Materials and Techniques of Contemporary Indian Miniature Painting." Mrs. Jain-Patel holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Art History from Rutgers University, a Master’s degree in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from the University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey, and two Master’s degrees in Art History and in Fine Arts Conservation from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She speaks Hindi fluently and is proficient in Italian.

Mrs. Jain-Patel is a Certified Member of the Appraiser’s Association of America, and is USPAP-compliant.