Christie’s extends its reach in the orientalist art field and introduces arab and Iranian art to sale in Paris for the first time
New International Director of Orientalist Art appointed
Important Orientalist sale in London in July valued at approximately $30/£15 /AED 100 million - to include an exceptional private collection from a prominent Middle Eastern Collector, unseen for many decades
Further sales dates in London, Paris, New York and Dubai announced
Christie’s, the world’s leading art business and auction house, has underlined its ongoing commitment to the Arab and Iranian art market by introducing a selection of artists from around the Middle East and North African region at its Orientalist sale in Paris, staged for June 3. Among the works for sale are pieces by Iranian artist Charles Hossein Zenderoudi, who created three of the top ten lots sold at Christie’s most recent art auction in Dubai last month, as well as works by Lebanese artists Amine El Bacha and Hussein Madi, Egyptian painters Georges Bahgoury and Ihab Shaker, and Iranian artists Faramarz Pilaram, Sadegh Tabrizi, and Hossein Kashian.
Since establishing the first sale dedicated to Orientalist Art in 1998, Christie’s has led the field in this vibrant collecting area. Our knowledge of this market, and the international collectors that support it, enables Christie’s to present an international platform of the highest quality works with sales of Orientalist art in London, Paris and New York. Christie’s is delighted to announce further sales dates this year in these locations and the appointment of Etienne Hellman as International Director of Orientalist Art, firmly underpinning the firm’s commitment to this art category.
Etienne Hellman joined Christie’s in 2000, working in both London and Paris. Working alongside the London, New York, Paris, and Dubai teams, he will play an important coordinating role between these international selling locations, ensuring a rigorous expertise process and the continued quality of the works presented thus helping to ensure Christie’s eminent position in this field. He will continue to develop the Paris Orientalist sales, and in collaboration with William Lawrie in Dubai, extend their range to include modern Arab and Iranian works of art, for the first time in France. This is a reflection of the growing appetite for the field internationally and a way of expanding the variety of works offered in this category. Paris was chosen in part because of the city’s enduring association with Arab and Iranian artists many of whom studied in the city and still live in France to this day.
“Christie’s sales of Orientalist Art are marketed and exhibited alongside Christie’s pioneering sales of Arab, Iranian and Western Art in Dubai, a unique approach offering buyers the very best works available and sellers the broadest collector base in the Middle East, Europe and beyond, said Etienne Hellman, International Director of Orientalist Art. “Significantly, and for the first time in France, the Paris sale extends its reach to include selected artworks by modern artists of the Arab and Iranian world, many of whom studied in Paris. The sale will feature a selection of artists from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Iran, as well as North African artists such as Hassan el Glaoui, Hussein Madi, Salah Taher, Faramarz Pilaram and Nasser Assar.”
“This approach will complement Christie’s ground-breaking sales of International Modern and Contemporary Art, staged in Dubai each spring and autumn,” added William Lawrie, Specialist Head of Sale for International Modern and Contemporary Art.
Forthcoming Sales
The sale of Orientalist Art in Paris, on 3 June, will focus on 20th Century Orientalist painters. International interest for these artists has developed rapidly and there is a wealth of new exciting material available. This auction boasts four major works by the French painter Jacques Majorelle (French, 1886- 1962), a crucial figure in the modern transformation of the Orientalist tradition, including the masterpiece The Terrasses of Tazouda a sublime example of his work of the 1940s’ and testimony to his life long interest in these famous Kasbahs of the High Atlas mountains. The sale also features a magnificent impressionist tableau depicting young women embarking in a caïque on the Bosphorus by the Russian painter Nikolai Kalmikoff (Russian/Turkish 1896-1951).
The important Orientalist sale in London, on 2 July, is the strongest ever in this category with masterpieces by Eugene Delacroix, John Frederick Lewis, Jean-Leon Gerome, John Singer Sargent, Rudolph Ernst, Alberto Pasini, Ludwig Deutsch and others. Each of these artists brings their own unique insight and interpretation of the different cultures and traditions they engaged with.
Alongside this sale, Christie’s Orientalist department is delighted to announce an Exceptional Private Collection from a Prominent Middle Eastern Collector, of a quality and breadth that has not been seen in decades. The 35-lot strong collection was acquired in the 1970s, and is expected to fetch in the region of £6 million/12 million. At the heart of this collection is a masterpiece by Gustav Bauernfeind (German, 1848-1904) featuring The Gate of the Great Mosque of the Ommayads, Damascus. Other outstanding works in the collection include Ladies on a Terrace, Tangiers by Rudolf Ernst (Austrian, 1854-1932), and an exquisite work by Rudolf Swoboda (Austrian, 1859-1914), The Carpet Menders, arguably the finest work by this painter ever to be offered at auction.
The London sale focuses on the traditional Orientalist masters and coincides with the most lively period of the summer auction calendar.
In autumn the momentum continues and the Orientalist Art sale moves to New York with an important sale on 26 October in which the classic masters are again presented at the prestigious Rockefeller centre location. On October 28, Christie’s will present the fifth sale of International Modern and Contemporary Art in Dubai, led by Arab, Iranian and Western masters.
