Three concurrent sales took place as in London this week as part of Sotheby’s Orientalist and Middle Eastern Art week, here is Selections’s report on all the action that took place:
Arts of the Islamic World Sale
The Arts of the Islamic World sale offered historical objects and was the first of three sales to take place at Sotheby’s on April 24. It combined various works of art produced under the aegis of multiple Islamic Empires spread over three continents over a period of over 1200 years, netting the auction house £6,128,625 in total sales.
Highlights included a 19th century Ottoman Turkish erotic manuscript on paper by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Mustafa al-Misri, with a pre-sale estimate of £250,000-300,000, closing well above at £561,000.
A breathtaking Iznik blue and white pottery pilgrim flask with animals made in Turkey, circa 1545-55 AD, also closed well above its pre-sale estimate of £60,000-80,000, going to a bidder at a final price of £669,000, more than eight fold it’s pre-sale estimate.
The sale also shed light on the appetite for manuscripts relating to scientific advances developed and practised during the Islamic Golden Age, including one notable work: “The Book of Correction of Optics for those who have Sight and Mind” from the 14th century AD, with a pre-sale estimate of £250,000-300,000, coming in at a final sale price of £549,000.
The “Arts of the Islamic World” sale at Sotheby’s in London offered a total of 204 lots, 67 of which went unsold.
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- A fine Mamluk silver-inlaid cast brass bowl, Egypt or Syria, first half 14th century (est. £60,000-80,000)
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- An illuminated Hilye, signed by Mahmud Celaleddin (d.1829), Turkey, Ottoman, dated 1202 AH/1787-88 AD (est. £10,000-15,000)
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- A unique blue and white pilgrim flask with animals, Turkey, circa 1545-55 (est. 60,000-80,000)
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- A Mughal nobleman riding through a landscape holding a hawk, India, Deccan, Bijapur, circa 1660-80 (est. £70,000-90,000)
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- Shaykh Muhammad ibn Mustafa al-Misri, A Turkish translation of Ruju al-shaykh ila sibah, ‘A Shaykh remembers his youth’, Turkey or Balkans, dated 1232 AH/1817 AD (est. £250,000-350,000)
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- Kamal al-Din al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Farisi, ‘The Book of Correction of Optics for those who have Sight and Mind’, autograph copy, Persia, probably Tabriz, dated 708 AH/1309 AD. (est. £250,000-350,000)
20th Century Art / Middle East Sale
The Sotheby’s sale of 20th Century Art / Middle East featured 60 lots ranging from the modern to contemporary period, totalling £2,140,250 in sales.
Highlights included record breaking artists and exceptional works by Bahman Mohasses (which achieved a new world record at auction), Charles Hossein Zenderoudi, Mahmoud Said, Mayo (another new world record at auction), Farid Belkahia, Ahmed Mater, Ramses Younan.
Mohasses’s (1931-2010) “The Minotaur Scares the Good People” had a pre-sale estimate of £280,000-350,000, closing in at a final sale price of £549,000, suggesting that the market for Iranian modern art remains bullish.
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- The movement of Action Painting left a strong impression on the artist, reinforcing his Sufi-like appreciation of colour. Manoucher Yektai, Untitled (Still Life with Pineapple), oil on canvas, 1969 (est. £55,000-70,000)
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- Antoine Malliarakis Mayo, La Clairière (The Meadow), oil on canvas, 1970 (est. £15,000-20,000)
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- Appearing at auction for the first time, this sumptuous painting by Mahmoud Saïd depicts the Quranic icons, Adam and Eve as two imposing, almost surreal, figures within a lush desert oasis. Mahmoud Said, Adam and Eve, oil on panel, 1937 (est. £300,000-500,000)
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- Defying classification, Monir Farmanfarmaian’s inimitable style evokes a nostalgia for Iran’s ancient culture. Monir Farmanfarmaian, Recollections I, mirror mosaic, reverse-glass painting and aluminium on plaster on board, 2008 (est. £160,000-200,000)
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- With an exceptional mastery over the minimalist aesthetic, Saliba Douaihy uses colour and shape to reveal a fascination with Lebanon’s landscapes. Saliba Douaihy, Composition Abstraite (Abstract Composition), oil on canvas, circa 1975 (est. £50,000-70,000)
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- One of the rarest works by the pioneering icon of Iranian modernism to ever appear at auction. Bahman Mohasses, Minotauro Seduto (Sitting Minotaur), bronze with Plexiglass base made by the artist, 1972 (est. £20,000-30,000)
Orientalist Sale
While the Orientalist Sale, launched as an annual event in 2012 and now in its seventh season, netted Sotheby’s £5,175,750 in sales spread across 61 lots. The works on offer featured mostly paintings and sculptures of landscapes, people, and customs of North Africa, Egypt, the Levant, Arabia, and the Ottoman world during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Highlights included works by Theodoros Ralli, Arthur von Ferraris, Anders Zorn, and Eugène Girardet, all of whom achieved strong results above their pre-sale estimates.
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- Theodoros Ralli (Greek, 1852-1909), Stringing Pearls, 1882, oil on canvas Estimate £80,000-120,000 / $112,000-168,000
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- Eugène Girardet (French, 1853 – 1907), Evening Prayers, oil on canvas. Estimate £150,000-200,000 / $210,000-280,000
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- Lot 7 Wilda, A Souk in Cairo Estimate £120,000 – 180,000
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- Joanowits, Bashi-bazouks before a Gateway Estimate £100,000 – 150,000
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- Alberto Pasini (Italian, 1826 – 1899), Market in Constantinople, oil on canvas Estimate £150,000-200,000 / $210,000-280,000
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- Anders Zorn (Swedish, 1860 – 1920), Women outside the Sidi Abderrahman Mosque, Algiers, 1887, watercolour and gouache on paper Estimate £300,000-500,000 / $420,000-700,000
Featured Image: One of the most vibrant and iconic works by the pioneer of Iraqi Modernism ever to have appeared at auction. Shakir Hassan Al-Said, Bustan Al-Ma’refa (The Orchard of Knowledge), oil on canvas, 1952 (est. £60,000-80,000).