Islamic and Indian Art at Auction in October - WSJ.com
Islamic and Indian art will take center stage at London auctions next week.
Christie's (Oct. 5), Sotheby's (Oct. 5-6) and Bonhams (Oct. 7) will offer a trove of precious objects spanning the seventh to the 19th centuries such as intricately decorated weaponry, textiles, manuscripts, ceramics, carvings, paintings and jewelry.
The October sales follow London auctions in April that showed buoyant demand for rare and top quality Islamic and Indian items. At Christie's, a 17th-century Persian carpet fetched £6.2 million, a world record for any Islamic work of art sold at auction. "To make a world record, everything has to come together: incredible rarity, incredible beauty and wonderful condition," says William Robinson, Christie's director of Islamic art. At Sotheby's in April, the highest price was paid for a 16th-century, Turkish ivory and turquoise-inlaid box set with rubies that fetched £2.39 million from a pre-sale estimate of £500,000-£700,000.
In the Islamic market it is hard to predict pre-sale where "the strongest excitement will land," Mr. Robinson says. However, there is a strong collector focus at present on calligraphic manuscripts, arms and armor and a "huge increase in demand" for Ottoman works, notes Bonhams specialist Kristina Sanne.
On Tuesday, Sotheby's will showcase "A Princely Collection: Treasures from the Islamic World" in the auctioneer's first evening sale of Islamic art (evening sales are prestigious events, indicating that a sector of the market has moved to higher things).
The 112 lots in the princely, single-owner sale were gathered over 40 years by an anonymous collector. Among the highlights will be a striking leaf with gold script on blue vellum from the celebrated "Blue Qur'an" produced in North Africa or the Near East in the ninth-10th century (estimate: £200,000-£300,000). "The gold and blue contrast is wonderful," says Edward Gibbs, Sotheby's Middle East department head. A very rare pair of 12th-13th-century carved wooden doors decorated with traditional calligraphy and a complex pattern of geometric forms and arabesques is expected to fetch £700,000-£900,000.
Sotheby's main sale Wednesday has some interesting highlights. Illustrating the deadly beauty of Islamic weapons, there will be an exquisitely-decorated, 15th-century ear-dagger (estimate: £600,000-£800,000). Daggers of this type were extremely fashionable among the noble gentry of the time. The name derives from the striking design of the hilt pommel that comprises two flattened discs which resemble ears.
Another highlight will be 24 preparatory paintings depicting the famous Battle of Pollilur in India in 1780 at which the British East India Co. army surrendered to Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali. Although the British eventually went on to defeat Tipu at the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799, Pollilur is remembered as one of the worst military defeats in British history, making Tipu, the tiger of Mysore, into a legend. The paintings were preparatory to a mural ordered by Tipu for his court and depict him with his father, magnificently attired, astride their elephants (estimate: £650,000-£800,000).
At Bonhams sale Thursday, there will be a glittering offering in a fabulous gem-encrusted finial of a tiger's head from the golden throne of Tipu. It is one of only three known surviving tiger heads from his elaborate throne (estimate: £200,000-£300,000). One of the known Tipu tiger finials is in the collection of the British queen.
Christie's sale on Tuesday will begin with 50 lots from the core of prominent visual arts patron Mohammed Said Farsi's classical Islamic art collection. Among them: an 18th-century Indian emerald, ruby and diamond parrot estimated at £400,000-£600,000; It is one of seven jeweled gold objects from the collection. "Drop-dead gorgeous" is how Mr. Robinson describes a rare, Central Asian silk robe decorated with birds from the 11th-12th century (estimate: £400,000-£600,000).
For those interested in modern and contemporary Arab and Iranian art, Sotheby's will hold an 83-lot sale in London Oct. 20. Dalya Islam, deputy director of Sotheby's Middle East department, says the sale's object is to "play a role in further raising global awareness" of the region's talent. Works will range from Egyptian artist Abdel Hadi El-Gazzar's monumental "Beach Dream" (1957), a figurative celebration of life and love (estimate: £200,000-£300,000) to Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri's "Born Yesterday" (2007), an ironic painting of a two-tiered, frothy wedding cake with loads of glitter (£60,000-£80,000).
Christie's (Oct. 5), Sotheby's (Oct. 5-6) and Bonhams (Oct. 7) will offer a trove of precious objects spanning the seventh to the 19th centuries such as intricately decorated weaponry, textiles, manuscripts, ceramics, carvings, paintings and jewelry.
The October sales follow London auctions in April that showed buoyant demand for rare and top quality Islamic and Indian items. At Christie's, a 17th-century Persian carpet fetched £6.2 million, a world record for any Islamic work of art sold at auction. "To make a world record, everything has to come together: incredible rarity, incredible beauty and wonderful condition," says William Robinson, Christie's director of Islamic art. At Sotheby's in April, the highest price was paid for a 16th-century, Turkish ivory and turquoise-inlaid box set with rubies that fetched £2.39 million from a pre-sale estimate of £500,000-£700,000.
In the Islamic market it is hard to predict pre-sale where "the strongest excitement will land," Mr. Robinson says. However, there is a strong collector focus at present on calligraphic manuscripts, arms and armor and a "huge increase in demand" for Ottoman works, notes Bonhams specialist Kristina Sanne.
On Tuesday, Sotheby's will showcase "A Princely Collection: Treasures from the Islamic World" in the auctioneer's first evening sale of Islamic art (evening sales are prestigious events, indicating that a sector of the market has moved to higher things).
The 112 lots in the princely, single-owner sale were gathered over 40 years by an anonymous collector. Among the highlights will be a striking leaf with gold script on blue vellum from the celebrated "Blue Qur'an" produced in North Africa or the Near East in the ninth-10th century (estimate: £200,000-£300,000). "The gold and blue contrast is wonderful," says Edward Gibbs, Sotheby's Middle East department head. A very rare pair of 12th-13th-century carved wooden doors decorated with traditional calligraphy and a complex pattern of geometric forms and arabesques is expected to fetch £700,000-£900,000.
Sotheby's main sale Wednesday has some interesting highlights. Illustrating the deadly beauty of Islamic weapons, there will be an exquisitely-decorated, 15th-century ear-dagger (estimate: £600,000-£800,000). Daggers of this type were extremely fashionable among the noble gentry of the time. The name derives from the striking design of the hilt pommel that comprises two flattened discs which resemble ears.
Another highlight will be 24 preparatory paintings depicting the famous Battle of Pollilur in India in 1780 at which the British East India Co. army surrendered to Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali. Although the British eventually went on to defeat Tipu at the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799, Pollilur is remembered as one of the worst military defeats in British history, making Tipu, the tiger of Mysore, into a legend. The paintings were preparatory to a mural ordered by Tipu for his court and depict him with his father, magnificently attired, astride their elephants (estimate: £650,000-£800,000).
At Bonhams sale Thursday, there will be a glittering offering in a fabulous gem-encrusted finial of a tiger's head from the golden throne of Tipu. It is one of only three known surviving tiger heads from his elaborate throne (estimate: £200,000-£300,000). One of the known Tipu tiger finials is in the collection of the British queen.
Christie's sale on Tuesday will begin with 50 lots from the core of prominent visual arts patron Mohammed Said Farsi's classical Islamic art collection. Among them: an 18th-century Indian emerald, ruby and diamond parrot estimated at £400,000-£600,000; It is one of seven jeweled gold objects from the collection. "Drop-dead gorgeous" is how Mr. Robinson describes a rare, Central Asian silk robe decorated with birds from the 11th-12th century (estimate: £400,000-£600,000).
For those interested in modern and contemporary Arab and Iranian art, Sotheby's will hold an 83-lot sale in London Oct. 20. Dalya Islam, deputy director of Sotheby's Middle East department, says the sale's object is to "play a role in further raising global awareness" of the region's talent. Works will range from Egyptian artist Abdel Hadi El-Gazzar's monumental "Beach Dream" (1957), a figurative celebration of life and love (estimate: £200,000-£300,000) to Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri's "Born Yesterday" (2007), an ironic painting of a two-tiered, frothy wedding cake with loads of glitter (£60,000-£80,000).
