Christie’s London sale of the Arts of Islamic and Indian Worlds brings in $8,577,517

KOLKATA: Christie’s London sale of the Arts of the Islamic and Indian Worlds has totalled £5,111,750/$8,577,517/€6,190,329.

The top lot was a rare and important early Iznik pottery bowl belonging to the Ottoman Turkey period, circa 1510, which realised a price of £1,426,500/$2,393,667/€1,727,492.

Sara Plumbly, head of the Islamic department, said in an email statement: "The results today demonstrate renewed strength in the market for Islamic and Indian art. In a busy saleroom, with many bidding online and on the telephones, high prices were achieved across the category. We were particularly delighted with the price achieved for a rare Iznik bowl which sold for £1.4 million breaking the world record for any piece of pottery from the modern Islamic world. Elsewhere in the sale, strong results were achieved across a variety of media, notably manuscripts where a Khamsa, copied for Muhammad Shah Bahadur, the son of Baysunghur sold for £266,500. Mughal jade and gemset objects were also a highlight. A jade pendant which was also the earliest known dated Mughal jade, sold for an amazing £290,000. The quality of the jade and the extremely fine calligraphy suggested possibly royal patronage and excited the numerous bidders who competed in the room and on the telephones for the piece. We were also delighted to welcome a number of new buyers to the category."