Bonhams’ Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art Sale Results
Al Qamar (1966), an oil painting by Kadhim Hayder (1932-1985), an Iraqi artist, achieved a remarkable price of £635,400 at Bonhams’ Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art Sale in London on Wednesday, May 24. This set a new world record for the artist at auction, surpassing the pre-sale estimate of £180,000 – £250,000. Another world record was also established for Faeq Hassan (Iraq, 1914-1992) with the sale of his work Baghdadiyat (circa 1950s), which fetched £190,000.
The auction, featuring 82 lots, achieved a total of £3,297,242, with 87% of the lots sold and 99% of the total value sold.
Nima Sagharchi, Bonhams Group Head of Islamic, Middle Eastern and South Asian Art, commented: “We are delighted with the results of the sale and to have achieved such a fantastic price for a monumental work by Kadhim Hayder from his Martyrs Epic series. Painted in 1966, Al Qamar powerfully depicts the moment of Imam Hussein’s death. It is a poignant and emotionally charged work, and testament to Hayder’s importance in the history of Iraqi art and his enduring legacy as an artist who captured the essence of one of the most important events in Islamic history. It is no surprise that this painting sparked such excitement among bidders, and ultimately sold for more than double its high estimate.”
Some other notable highlights from the auction include:
- Saliba Douaihy’s (Lebanon, 1915 – 1994) Blue Abstract, which sold for £203,600, exceeding the pre-sale estimate of £40,000-60,000.
- Faeq Hassan’s Baghdadiyat (circa 1950s), which sold for £190,000, setting a new auction record for the artist.
- Dia Azzawi’s (Iraq, born 1939) Red Composition (1970), which sold for £178,200, surpassing the pre-sale estimate of £50,000-80,000.
- Manoucher Yektai’s (Iran, born 1922) Still Life, which sold for £165,500, surpassing the pre-sale estimate of £25,000-50,000.
- Adam Henein’s (Egypt, 1929-2020) Donkey, which sold for £152,800, surpassing the pre-sale estimate of £70,000-100,000.
