DUBAI: Luxury auction house Christie’s is set to host its Art of the Islamic and Indian World sale at its headquarters in London on Oct. 24, with objects spanning more than 1,000 years of history.
Sara Plumbly, who heads up the auction house’s Art of the Islamic and Indian World department, spoke to Arab News about key pieces in the sale.
The auction will offer a curated selection of carpets, ceramics, manuscripts, textiles, works on paper and metalwork from across the Islamic world, some of which went on show at Christie’s Dubai outlet earlier this month.
The Oct. 24 sale will be led by a rare silk Safavid Polonaise carpet from the early 17th century, valued at between $1,300,000-$2,600,000, and a pair of bevelled Sasanian silver bottles from Iran, from the 6th or 7th century.
A pair of bevelled Sasanian silver bottles. (Supplied)
The bottles are a highlight for Plumbly as they represent a rare look at a style of adornment that foreshadowed the early Islamic bevelled style of architecture style seen in Samarra, Iraq, in the 9th century.
“They’re a kind of pivotal piece in that they’re Sasanian, they’re pre-Islamic, but they are informing the art and the architecture of future dynasties,” she said of the gilt-and-silver pieces.
With an estimated value of $270,000–$390,000, the bevelled bottles were on show in Dubai and visitors marvelled at the strikingly modern style of the raised carvings.
A rare silk Safavid 'Polonaise' carpet. (Supplied)
“One of the things that appeals to me the most is the design, it almost feels Art Nouveau or something,” Plumbly said, referring to the form popularized at the start of the 20th century.
Another highlight in the auction is a Florentine portrait of Ottoman leader Suleiman the Magnificent, painted in Italy circa 1600.
Florentine portrait of Süleyman the Magnificent. (Supplied)
Artist Cristofano dell’Altissimo, or a member of his circle, painted the tenth and longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman empire based on a previous painting of the sultan, which had been sent to Florence.
“Barbarossa met with his counterpart, a French admiral, and presented to him this wonderful ebony and ivory box that was … filled with portraits of Ottoman sultans … and so that was copied,” Plumbly explained, referring to Hayreddin Barbarossa, admiral of the Ottoman Navy.
The Italian version of the image of Suleiman became widely distributed across Europe and informed the European image of one of the most well-known Ottoman sultans in history.
The auction encompasses “everything from the of birth of Islam, so the 7th century, right up until the 19th, and from Spain to China,” Plumbly said of the wide-ranging lots set to go under the hammer next week.
