Iznik Bowl sold for £1.4 million, breaks world record

KOLKATA: Christie's concluded Islamic Art Week in London from 8 to 11 April 2014 with a combined sales total of £10,230,188 ($17,028,757). An auction record was set for any piece of pottery from today's Islamic world when a rare Iznik bowl sold for £1.4 million.

William Robinson, international head of Islamic and Indian Art, said in an email statement: ""Christie's consistent success in the London week of Islamic Art sales this spring was underpinned by rare and beautiful works with strong provenance sourced from private collections. A celebration of creativity and technical excellence from the Islamic and Indian worlds encompassing works of art, carpets and rugs and manuscripts, the works offered throughout the sales at both King Street and South Kensington drew competitive international bidding across media, periods and price levels.

""A welcome development was that those new to the field at Christie's accounted for a considerable proportion of the bidding in the sales this week, joining the busy salerooms in person, competing on the telephones or online. On Tuesday, we were particularly delighted with the strong result achieved in the Carpets sale which indicates a renewed vigour in this collectors' market. On Thursday at King Street a rare Iznik bowl sold for £1.4 million - setting a new record price for Iznik pottery and any pottery from today's Islamic world. The strongest message of the week was that all three sales exceeded their pre-sale high estimates; they were the only sales of the week to achieve this.""