The strong presence of Iranian artists in the 20th edition of Christie’s Dubai Art Auction (Mar 13-17) concluded with impressive results.
Owning some 40% of the total 125 artworks under the hammer, and selling 24 items at more than $100,000 a piece can be seen as a good record for Iran at the event, Honaronline reported.
Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the auction, the short period of spectacular sales was conducted in several sections, including sales of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art.
According to Christie’s website, the curated anniversary sale, ‘Now and Ten’ showcased the very best of modern and contemporary art from the region, including Iranian masterpieces drawn from the collection of Akbar and Sousan Seif Nasseri.
This was followed by a second auction of ‘Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern Art’ that brought together important works from the most sought after artists of the region.
The sale fetched $12 million from 92 items among the exhibited art. As a mentionable record, 46 Iranian artworks, among 52 items presented at the event were on offer at the world event.
The most expensive item sold was the huge triptych painting by Egyptian Omar El Nagdi, estimated at $400,000 to $600,000, which went under the hammer for $1.14 million.
Among the Iranian works, a mirror work by nonagenarian Monir Farmanfarmaian sold for $377,000. Sohrab Sepehri’s painting, from ‘Trees’ series, sold for $341,000. An item by Mansour Qandriz and ‘Heech’ sculpture by Parviz Tanavoli was sold for $341,000 and $317,000 respectively.
In addition, an untitled work by Faramarz Pilaram, sold for $245,000; Hossein Zendehroudi’s calligraphy work, went under the hammer for $233,000 and another work by Sepehri, sold for $227,000.
Reza Derakhshani’s painting, a ceramic and a fiberglass sculpture by Tanavoli, paintings by Manouchehr Yektaei and Farhad Moshiri, an untitled work by Abolqasem Saeidi, Afshin Pirhashemi’s tetraptych painting, and a painting by Hedieh Sha’afi were among the works on offer each of which was sold for over $100,000.
Overall, 12 remaining works by Iranian participants were sold for $100,000 to $19,000. Furthermore, works by Mohammad Ahsaei, Farhad Moshiri, Sohrab Sepehri, and Afrouz Amiqi were among the six unsold items.
Christie’s offers around 350 auctions annually in over 80 categories, including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewelry, photographs, collectiblesand more.
In recentyears,Christie’s has led the market with expanded initiatives in growth markets such as Russia, China, India and the United Arab Emirates, with successful sales and exhibitions in Beijing, Mumbai and Dubai.
