Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art Part I

Part I of Christie’s Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art auctions reached US$3,640,100/AED13,370,087 in Dubai this week, with 96% of lots sold, half of them above high estimate. Bidders from 13 countries competed for works from across the Middle East, with world auction records set for Gazbia Sirry, Hayv Kahraman, Ramazan Bayrakoglu, Shirazeh Houshiary and Timo Nasseri. The top lot was $818,500/AED3,006,350 for Pêcheurs à Rosette, the 1941 masterpiece by Egypt’s Mahmoud Saïd, while modern and contemporary works by Iranian artists Sohrab Sepehri, Farhad Moshiri and Nasrollah Afjehei achieved high prices well above their pre-sale low estimates.p>