In the spring of the current year, due to the pervasiveness of the first wave of the corona around the world, international auctions were held online by moving the location of their event in different kinds and several times, finally were able to significantly preserve the life of the art economy. Now, on the eve of the end of the year and in the fall of 2020, these auctions, based on their experiences in holding online, once again have their various agenda, especially the "Modern and Contemporary Middle East Art" auction and the "Islamic Arts" auction. This month and next month, 7 auctions with works of Iranian art will be held in London. In the following, we will look at these international auctions that can bring economic prosperity to the art of the Middle East and Iran.
Sotheby's Auction
The Sotheby's auction house in London has been holding an online twentieth-century oriental art auction online for a few days from October 20 to 27, featuring 29 works by 17 Iranian artists.
During this period of the twentieth-century Middle Eastern artists' auction, works by artists from Iran, Egypt, Turkey, etc. will be hammered, and Iran, with 29 works by 17 Iranian artists, has accounted for 40% of the total works in this auction. It shows the powerful Iranian art market in the region.
It shows the powerful Iranian art market in the region. But among the most expensive works at the auction is a sculpture by Egyptian artist Mahmoud Mukhtar with a base figure of 150,000 to 200,000 Pounds, followed by calligraphy by Hossein Zenderoudi at a base price of 80 to 120 in second place. A painting by Bahman Mohasses and sculpture, as well as an untitled work by Monir Farmanfarmaeian from the artist's collection of mirrors, with a base figure of 70 to 90 thousand Pounds, are in the most expensive works of the Sotheby's auction period. Meanwhile, Sohrab Sepehri, with 4 works in this auction, holds the record for the most artworks in this event.
On October 27, the auction house will also hold two auctions in the field of Islamic art, in both of which, works of Iranian art will be sold.
The first auction, which will be held live, on October 27 at 2 pm, will feature a collection of works from the Jerusalem Museum of Islamic Art. In this auction, 190 works of Islamic art from Iran, Spain, Egypt, etc. will be hammered. 64 Iranian works including calligraphy, tiles, sculpture, glassware, and carpets from the 10th to the 19th century will be presented.
The Sotheby's "Arts of the Islamic World and India" Auction will be held live on October 27 at 6:30 pm at the Sotheby's Auction House in London too. In this auction, 118 works from Iran, Turkey, India, Italy, Spain, France, Egypt, Azerbaijan, etc. will be hammered. In this event, 17 Iranian works including calligraphy, painting, sculpture, and tiles from the 14th to the 19th century will be presented.
Bonham's Auction
Bonham's Auction will hold a live auction of "Islamic Art and India" in London on October 26. In this auction, 289 works from Iran, India, Algeria, etc. have been presented, and more than one-third of the works in this auction belong to Iranian art.
In this auction, 103 Iranian works including paintings, calligraphy, photographs, miniatures, books, lacquer boxes, pens, ceramic jars, etc. have been presented. The most expensive Iranian work in the auction is Saadi's book with 8 pictures, which belongs to the 16th century and is offered at a price of 12 to 15 thousand pounds in this auction.
The auction house also plans to hold a live auction of "Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art" in London on November 24. The catalog information has not yet been published on the event's website, and since most of the auction records have so far been dedicated to Iranian artists, it is expected that a significant portion of the auction works will be dedicated to Iranian artists.
Christie's Auction
Christie's Auction House will hold a live "Art of the Islamic World and India" auction in London on October 28.
In this auction, 216 works from Iran, Spain, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, etc. have been presented. Iran, with 89 works including paintings, calligraphy, books, carpets, etc., has the highest number of works in this auction dedicated.
The most expensive work of this auction is an Iranian silver candlestick belonging to the fourteenth century, which will be offered with a base price of 300 to 500 thousand pounds.
Christie's also plans to hold the "Modern and Contemporary Middle East Art" auction online from November 11 to 24. The auction has not yet published the full details of its catalog on the event's website.
But it has been announced that the 15th season of Christie's Middle East art sales will be held with works by artists from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Morocco, etc. In the general information of the auction, it has been announced that works by Farhad Moshiri and Hossein Zenderoudi will be presented at this event.