The 5th Tehran Auction presenting classic and modern Iranian art was held on Friday and earned $7.4 million, breaking last year’s record of $6.4 million.
The auction at Tehran’s Parsian Azadi Hotel, in the northernmost part of the capital, saw a painting from the ‘Tree Trunk’ series by the late contemporary poet and painter Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1980) break the record with $875,000, the highest bid over the previous rounds of the auction, also held by Sepehri.
The second top bid was also another work in the same series that sold for $450,000, making Sepehri the most valuable artist in this year’s edition, Mehr News Agency reported.
At the beginning of the event, prominent artist Hossein Pakdel, who conducted the auction, congratulated filmmaker Asghar Farhadi and actor Shahab Hosseini for winning awards at Cannes Film Festival with the movie ‘The Salesman’ and said, “This week Iran cinema brought honor for the country, now with this auction, we hope we can promote art and culture,” to a greater level.
He pointed to the past four rounds of the auction which created a revolution in the field of visual arts in the country and said that for the current edition, “the organizers had to go through a pool of remarkable artworks to select the best 80 pieces”.
The next highest bids included an untitled painting by the nonagenarian artist Manouchehr Yektayi that sold for $288,000 and ‘Sublimation’ a miniature by the veteran master of Persian painting Mahmoud Farshchian, for $365,000.
Two calligraphy paintings by veteran artists, ‘Blue Dance’ by Mohammad Ehsai and ‘SAT+HE+SAT’ by Hossein Zenderoudi, went under the hammer for $290,000.
‘Green Family’ a mirror mosaic and reverse-glass painting by the nonagenarian artist Monir Farmanfarmaian went under the hammer for $260,000 and ‘Still Life’ a painting by the late artist Bahman Mohasses (1931-2010) was bought for $250,000.
An untitled work by Parviz Kalantari who passed away last week sold for $95,000. The painting, like many of his other works, was a depiction of desert and its special houses.
Other Notable Works
Works of other notable artists including Farideh Lashai, Ali Akbar Sadeghi, Parviz Tanavoli, Parvaneh Etemadi, Hanibbal Alkhas and Iran Darroudi among others were also for sale.
A total of 80 artworks from different mediums in two categories of classic and modern went were for sale. Only one of the lots was not sold and the lowest bid was made at $8,750.
The ultimate price paid for most of the works was more than the maximum estimated values, in some cases even double and triple the base price. The majority of the artists whose works were auctioned are well-known in the global art scene and their works have been part of international art sales such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
Although there were fewer lots compared to last year, which had 126 works, the total sale increased by one million dollars, showing public interest in artworks and a new trend among art fans, eventually a big boost in the economics of art.
Culture Minister Ali Jannati and his deputy Ali Moradkhani, soccer coach Ali Daei, musician and conductor Shahrdad Rouhani and actresses Elnaz Shakerdoost, Ana Nemati and Atefeh Razavi were present.
The event was organized by the former director of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art Alireza Sami-Azar.
Tehran Auction was launched in 2012 as an independent and private initiative to introduce the best of Iranian art ranging from established and emerging Iranian artists to Iranian art collectors and global audience.
It is an endeavor to fulfill the increasing interest in modern and contemporary Iranian art and to facilitate the acquisition of the best quality works of various genres. It also aims to support the domestic art market as a key basis for the international market. Tehran Auction works widely with Iranian art galleries and collectors to ensure a vast and strong selection of paintings, sculptures and photographs.
