Unseen work by "Persian Picasso" Bahman Mohasses to go under the hammer at Sotheby’s

Tehran. (Iranart)- More than 100 works of Middle Eastern art will go on sale as part of Sotheby’s upcoming 20th Century Art / Middle East online auction, which includes pioneering artists such as Mahmoud Mokhtar, Mohamed Melehi, Huguette Caland, and Bahman Mohasses.

Top lots include Egyptian artist Mokhtar’s bronze work ‘Au bord du Nil,’ which depicts a water carrier and echoes elements from Art Deco and ancient Egyptian sculpture. The work refers to the fight for women’s independence in Egypt and is estimated at £150,000-200,000 ($195,000-$260,000), reported the national.ae.

There is also a previously unseen painting by Mohasses, considered one of Iran’s cultural greats and whose style shares elements with Pablo Picasso’s abstract works. Titled ‘Personaggio I,’ the 1968 piece was formerly in the collection of former US vice president Nelson Rockefeller and is estimated at £70,000-90,000.

A vibrant, shimmering work on paper by renowned Iranian artist Faramarz Pilaram, one of the founders of the saqqakhaneh movement (a movement of neo-traditional modern art that is found in Iran, rooted in a history of coffee-house paintings and Shia Islam visual elements) that brought together modern art and Persian calligraphy, is expected to go for £60,000-80,000. Made with metallic paint, the patchwork-like piece bears geometric designs and symbols.

Within the same price range is a rare cellulose painting by Mohamed Melehi, containing his recognizable wave motif rendered in bold red, green and blue colors. The Moroccan artist recently set a new auction record in March, when his 1963 work, ‘The Blacks,’ sold for £399,000, more than seven times its estimate.

Works by Emirati artists Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, recently selected to represent the UAE at the Venice Biennale 2020, and Shaikha Al Mazrou are also included in the sale. Ibrahim’s papier-mâché sculpture, Bouquet, from 2018 is estimated at £6,000-8,000, while Al Mazrou’s playful steel sculpture is expected to go for £7,000-9,000.

Al Mazrou joins other female artists in the line-up, including the late Huguette Caland, Monir Farmanfarmaian, and Inji Aflatoun.

The auction also includes 13 works from the private collection of Sheila and Eric Azari that encapsulates Modern Iranian art from the 1960s, including pieces by those parts of the saqqakaneh movement, such as Sohrab Sepehri and Massoud Arabshahi. New to the auction are the artists Hassan Qaemi and Fereydoun Rahimi-Assa, whose works are also part of the Azari collection.

The bidding will be open for a week, from October 20 to 27, and the works will be part of a public exhibition in London on October 24 and 25.

Source: Iran Daily