Indophile, photographer, art collector, writer, numismatics scholar and a close collaborator of Mulk Raj Anand, Lance Dane (89), passed away at the Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday.

He left behind a treasure trove of antiques, paintings and precious coins.

The Australian-born art enthusiast had been living in India for decades collecting rare pieces from all over the country.

He worked with Mulk Raj Anand. He is responsible for the visual inputs of the earliest copies of the Marg magazine (edited by Anand) and was best known for his two illustrated volumes on Kama Sutra - 'The Complete Illustrated Volume of Kama Sutra'.

Rajeev Sethi, noted designer and Mr. Dane's friend has said, “I have seen a large part of his collection. It's a national treasure and worth millions. The State should acquire it. You need to carry out due diligence and whoever is the custodian of it must honour this man's passion.”

Mr. Dane was a close associate of writer Mulk Raj Anand. “He did the visual archive for the Festival of India. He has the largest collection of photographs by a single man ever and the largest collections of coins. He gave a large part of his collection to the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts,” Mr. Sethi said.

"He was a helpless old man. He died without anybody. It is sad that his lifelong passion is not shared. It is lying without any care. I feel the effort should be made to [conserve it]," Mr, Sethi said.

Stone and wood sculptures were everywhere, on the floor, in every nook and corner of the room. The balcony was full of such antiques.

'We had been friends for the last 40-50 years. He was one of the oldest scholars of Indian iconography. I consulted him when I was confused about iconography,' artist Anjolie Ela Menon told.

Raju Bhatt, Mr. Dane's foster son has said, “It was his dream to place his collection in a museum and we will do it. He wanted a numismatic [for his coin collection].”

“His main intention was to give his collection back to the country. That was his primary goal. He wanted children and students to learn from it,” a friend said.

Mr. Dane is understood to have agreed upon giving his coin collection to the Hinduja Foundation in Mumbai.

“He [Mr. Dane] wanted his collection to be in a place where people can enjoy and learn,” said Satish Gupta, a photographer who trained under Mr. Dane and has been living with him for years.

Another helper Sanjay Gejge said: “He thought if he gave his collection to the Foundation, they would turn it into a museum. This very morning four persons came home to parcel off some art pieces.”

Mr. Dane's house itself resembles a mini-museum, where art works occupy much of the living space. However, the house is in a run-down condition and the pieces are uncared for.

In the absence of immediate family to look after the invaluable collection, this rich slice of India's heritage needs urgent attention.  (msn)