Works by Iranian artists were sold high during the Christie’s ‘Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art’ sale at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, in Dubai.
Paintings from Iranian artists sold nearly $4 million, almost one-third of the whole amount of the 17th Christie’s Dubai sale.
According to Christie’s website, works from eight important family collections from across the region and around the world drove the total above the $8.5 million high estimate to $12.51 million.
This was the highest sale total for the category since 2010. The sale was 95% sold by value, an indication of the continuing strength of the market and the demand from collectors around the world for works of top quality by leading artists from the region. Among the 121 lots in the sale, 19 new artist records were set.
Highlights of the auction include ‘Bergere a Alamein’ an artwork by the Egyptian artist Mahmoud Said sold for $869,000, ‘Nasser and the Nationalization of the Canal’ by another Egyptian artist Hamed Ewais sold for $557,000 and an untitled work by Iraqi artist Mahmoud Sabri which sold for $425,000.
Record Sale
The record for Iranian artworks sold at the auction was set by ‘The Last Poet of Iran’, a painting by veteran artist and sculptor Parviz Tanavoli sold for $365,000, followed by an untitled work by Sohrab Sepehri from his ‘Tree Trunk’ series and an artwork by Farhad Moshiri entitled ‘Toothpicker’ which both sold for $269,000. Works by other Iranian artists such as Ali Banisadr, Manoucher Yektai, Hossein Zenderoudi, Ali Shirazi, Leyli Matin-Daftari, Houshang Pezeshknia, and many others were also sold during the auction.
Although Tanavoli’s work was ranked fifth, it was sold to a bid 6 times of its primary estimate. Tanavoli still holds an auction record for a sculpture sold at Christie’s in Dubai. His sculpture ‘Oh Persepolis’ sold for $2.84 million in 2008.
Christie’s special online sale of modern and contemporary art from the Middle East will extend its run until October 30.
