Art of the middle east and india brings grand total of £14.7 million across four auctions

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LONDON, 20 October 2016 – Art of the Middle East & India Week – a unique group of five fascinating sales revealing the interwoven artistic traditions of multiple continents from the ninth century to the present day – realised a combined total of £14,737,875, exceeding pre-sale expectations (est. £9.1-13 million). Of the 270 lots sold across the week, nearly 60% exceeded their pre-sale high estimates with a quarter of the buyers new to Sotheby's.

Edward Gibbs, Sotheby's Middle East & India Chairman, said: "We welcomed the world to our #london galleries this week for a celebration of the rich artistic traditions of the Middle East and India. From exquisite Indian miniatures and medieval Persian manuscripts, to ground-breaking works of Middle Eastern and South Asian contemporary art, the cultural and stylistic cross- pollination presented in our exhibition and sales was reflected in the way that collectors participated across our auctions this week. The huge success of this week's auctions was underpinned by the strength of the single-owner collections on offer, opening with the estate of Herr Dölf Amacker in our South Asian Art sale, followed by the incomparable Khosrovani-Diba Collection and the manuscripts of the late Jafar Ghazi. To round off the week we saw another sensational sale of 20th Century art from the Middle East, proving once again that #london – and Sotheby's - is at the forefront of the Middle Eastern art market."

20th Century Art / Middle East:

Following the success of April's relaunched 20th Century Art / Middle East sale, today's auction once again soared above its pre-sale high estimate to bring £3,014,125 (est. £1.6-2.1 million), with a sell-through rate of 87.5%. The sale was led by the exquisitely elegant El Amira, the first marble sculpture by Egyptian artist Mahmoud Mokhtar to appear at auction, which sold for £545,000 (est. £180,000-200,000) after a prolonged bidding battle. Internationally-acclaimed Iranian artist Monir Farmanfarmaian's mesmerising Variations on Hexagon of Octagon Mirrors also far exceeded its estimate selling for £245,000 (est. £120,000-150,000). There was a new record for Lebanese painter, poet and essayist Etel Adnan, whose exhibition at the Serpentine gallery in #london took place earlier this year, as a seminal work from her California series sold for £35,000. Further auction records were achieved for Contemporary Iranian artist Hossein Valamanesh and Egyptian artist Ahmed Morsi. 

Ashkan Baghestani, Sotheby's Contemporary Arab and Iranian Art Specialist and Head of Sale, said: "Our #london sale has quickly become a major platform for the Middle Eastern art market. This week we presented a tightly-edited selection of pieces by pioneering Modernist figures alongside leading Contemporary artists and emerging names making their first appearance at auction - it was tremendously exciting to see superb results across the board. "

The Khosrovani-Diba Collection:

The single-owner sale of The Khosrovani-Diba Collection, a prestigious group of Indian miniatures by Mughal masters and fine paintings of the Rajasthani, Pahari and Company Schools, more than doubled pre-sale expectations with a total of £3,052,500 (est. £1-1.5 million) and over 87% of lots sold achieving in excess of their high estimates. The auction was led by an elegantly coloured and lyrical depiction of Radha consoled by Krishna in a forest, an illustration of a romantic night scene from the "Lambagraon" Gita Govinda series, which sold for £353,000 (est. £50,000-80,000). Another outstanding result was for a large and arresting study of a Stork eating a snail from the important Lady Impey Series, that was part of the estate of Jacqueline Kennedy when it was sold by Sotheby's in 1996, which brought £245,000 (est. £60,000-80,000).

Edward Gibbs, Sotheby's Middle East & India Chairman, said: "Formed over four decades, every work in the Khosrovani-Diba collection had been handpicked for its exceptional quality and this was reflected in the steep competition that propelled the outstanding success of yesterday's sale.

Together each beautifully-preserved piece tells the story of the development of Indian painting – from the technical #excellence of the artists to the centuries of cultural exchange. Yesterday's result continues the tradition at Sotheby's of presenting museum-quality collections of Indian miniatures, and will be remembered alongside landmark sales including Stuart Cary Welch and Sven Gahlin."

Arts of the Islamic World:

The Arts of the Islamic World presented rare and exquisite objects telling the story of over a thousand years of artistic exchange and influence in the Islamic world, bringing a total of £4,656,125 (est. £3.8-5.5 million). The sale was led by forty manuscripts and calligraphies from the renowned collection of the late Jafar Ghazi, which doubled pre-sale estimates to total £1,992,125 (est. £676,000-994,000). Each of these works bears witness to the high esteem in which calligraphy was held in Turkey, the Middle East and Persia from the medieval period up until the end of the Ottoman era. The group was led by superb Timurid manuscript of Sa'adi's Kulliyat, in almost pristine condition, complete with fine, crisp illumination and tooled and filigree-work binding that took at least nine years to complete, which sold for £473,000 (est. £80,000-120,000). A further highlight was the School of Veronese portrait of Sultan Bayezid I, also known as Yildirım (The Thunderbolt), the fourth ruler of the Ottoman Empire posing with a cross-shoulder glance in the manner of the great masters Giorgione and Titian, sold for £185,000.

Benedict Carter, Sotheby's Head of Auction Sales Middle East, "Once again we've seen the power of esteemed single-owner collections attracting buyers from every corner of the globe – witnessed so clearly in the outstanding results for the manuscripts from the collection of the late Jafar Ghazi. The cross section of Qur'ans and calligraphies, alongside secular works on science, medicine, mathematics and astronomy reflect a golden age of the Islamic arts of the book, from the medieval period until the end of the Ottoman era. This sought-after mix of prestigious provenance and historical importance carried the Ghazi collection well beyond expectations, with bidding not only from private collectors, but also museums in America, Europe and the South Asia."

Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art:

Sotheby's Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art Sale in #london showcased an impressive range of paintings and sculpture by Modern masters, from storied collections with stellar provenances, realising £4,015,125, which well exceeded the pre-sale estimate of £2.7-4m. Francis Newton Souza's masterwork, The Deposition, 1963, was the top lot, achieving £1,565,000 almost three times the high estimate. There was also an outstanding result for another of Indian's Modern Masters, with Vasudeo S. Gaitonde's Untitled, 1973, selling for £965,000, doubling the price it achieved when last on the market in 2013. This sale opened with a collection of Indian works from Swiss collector Herr Dölf Amacker, not seen since the 1970s; all 21 lots sold with many going for multiple times their estimates.

Yamini Mehta, Sotheby's International Head of Indian and South Asian Art, said: "We were delighted with the sale result which demonstrated the strength of the market internationally for this field of collecting. The sale total exceeded expectations, driven by a broad global spread of buyers from Europe, US, India and the Middle East. Almost fifty percent of the lots sold achieved prices above their high estimate, and the sale overall reached the highest sell-through rate in this category at Sotheby's since 2008. This is truly testament to the winning combination of outstanding fresh-to-the-market works offered with appealing estimates".