Various Iranian art pieces have fetched high prices at Bonhams sale of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art in the British capital, London, Monday (April 20).
The acrylic and mineral pigment on canvas by acclaimed Iranian painter Hossein Zenderoudi ranked first fetching $147,000, while the second place was shared by an Egyptian and two Iranian artists, reports Honaronline.
A work from the abstract series of Sohrab Sepehri and Farhad Moshiri's 'Alef' together with a work by Mahmoud Musa from Egypt all were sold for $129,000.
Another piece from the abstract series by Sohrab Sepehri titled 'Flora and Fauna', sold for $120,000, and got the third place.
Three works of calligraphy paintings from Iranian artists also gained outstanding bids. Sent by Mojdeh Gallery, they were sold three times higher than the original price which indicates the value of such works in Europe.
Ali Shirazi's acrylic on canvas got the highest record among the three, fetching $47,000. Einoddin Sadeghzadeh's work titled 'Love' and Bahram Hanafi's untitled work were sold for $30,000 and $9,000 respectively.
Farideh Lashai (whose abstract painting was the catalogue cover of the auction), Masoud Arabshahi, Reza Derakhshani, Nasser Ovissi, Mohammad Ehsai, and Shadi Ghadirian were among the other Iranian artists whose works went under the hammer.
Out of the 24 Iranian works presented, 16 were sold and the rest will be available for online sale at the auction website.
A total of 77 artworks including paintings, calligraphy art, sculptures, and photos from Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Lybia were auctioned.
Founded in 1793, Bonhams is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques, which has a global network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 50 specialty areas.
