ANWAR JELAL SHEMZA | Five Chairs; Interior

Acquired from the artist's family in 2007 Ali Adil Khan is a Toronto based collector of South Asian art. He has contributed notable reviews on South Asian art and artists for leading art journals, newspapers and websites. He has also served as an adviser to the Royal Ontario Museum, Aga Khan Museum and the Art Gallery of Mississauga in Toronto and invited to speak at the 14th Asian Art Biennale in Dhaka. Khan’s collection includes modern and contemporary art, contemporary miniature paintings, calligraphy and art of Indian Cinema.

London, Jhaveri Contemporary, Anwar Jalal Shemza: Paper | Print | Collage, 9-13 June 2015 (another from the edition) 

Five Chairs - The Asal Collection Catalogue, Asal Partners Ltd., 2009, illustration p. 93
Interior - I. Dadi, Anwar Jalal Shemza, Ridinghouse, London, 2015, illustration p. 159 (another from the edition)

There is yellowing of paper and foxing in the works, notably in Five Chairs. Pin sized holes in the corners of Five Chairs and in the upper corners of Interior are not visible in the sight image.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

An important modernist in his own right, Anwar Jalal Shemza is representative of a generation of artists who emerged in the wake of the decolonization of Asia and Africa. He arrived in Britain in 1956 to study at the Slade School of Fine Arts. He continued to live in the UK until his death in 1985. While at the Slade School, Shemza received a British Council scholarship for an intensive course in etching and lithography under renowned British printmaker, Antony Gross. He distilled his experiences into a disciplined formalist practice, much of it based on geometry. These geometric forms would provide him with a set of finite, yet flexible building blocks – much of his work is seen with reference to the shapes of the Roman letters B and D, comparing the final effect to the marble screens of the Sheesh Mahal at the Lahore Fort.