Just months after expanding into Southeast Asia with a slew of new hires, Bonhams is planting a proverbial flag in India. Last week, as thousands of collectors and enthusiasts poured into the India Art Fair, the auction house announced the hiring of Gayatri Juneja as a new representative based in New Delhi. An art professional educated in the UK and Switzerland — and an Indian native — Juneja will represent one of the world's largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques as it seeks to tap into a market worth a reported $400 million.

Since 2009, Juneja has run her own international luxury goods business, experience which Bonhams is banking on to help establish vital relationships in India. "[Juneja's] background gives her an understanding of the luxury and art markets in the UK, and her Indian upbringing will assist Bonhams networking in India," the auction house said on its website.

Of course, this is not Bonhams's first foray into the Indian market. The auctioneer has dealt in Islamic and Indian art for the last 25 years,  buying and selling everything from detailed miniatures of regal Mughal emperors to Mamluk and Ottoman metalwork. In the mid-'90s, the auction house diversified its portfolio to include modern and contemporary south Asian art. But with the hiring of Juneja, Bonhams is commiting to an on-the-ground presence that will presage a heightened profile in the region. This summmer, Bonhams will launch a modern and contemporary auction dedicated to South Asia. 

So with an expansion into Southeast Asia and new representation in India, where next for the auction house? 

India's notorious nuclear neighbor might be one possibility. A growing global curiosity, Pakistan has become more than a blip on Bonham's South Asian radar. Pakistani art is fast gaining recognition and value, but has still not had its auction boom. That may change soon. According to Head of Middle Eastern Art at Bonhams, Mehreen Rizvi, “It is the next hot thing after Iranian Art.”