Now

20th Century Art/ Middle East

RESULTS

Following the success of April’s relaunched 20^th 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.  

AUCTION DETAILS

Following our successful relaunch of Arab, Iranian and Turkish art sales last Spring in London and the first ever single owner Iranian Art sale to be offered at auction, Sotheby's is delighted to announce it's next 20th Century Art: Middle East sale this October. The auction will comprise seminal works by Monir Farmanfarmanian, Mahmoud Mokthar, Hossein Valamanesh and Shakir Hassan Al Said, amongst other vibrant modern and contemporary artists from our region.

Please note that there may be restrictions on the import of property of Iranian origin into some or all member countries of the Gulf Co-Operation Council.  Any buyers planning to import property of Iranian origin into any of these countries should satisfy themselves of the relevant import regime.  Sotheby’s will not assist buyers with the shipment of such items into countries of the Gulf Co-Operation Council.