LONDON.- One of the most important pieces of Iznik pottery remaining in private hands, a large and intact dish circa 1480 appeared at auction for the first time today to make £5,359,950 / $6,937,383 – more than 13 times its pre-sale estimate of £300,000-500,000. The rare piece represents a significant discovery in the field of Ottoman art, belonging to the earliest group of Iznik – produced at the very genesis of the art form during the reign of Mehmet II ‘the Conqueror’. Following a fierce bidding battle between nine collectors that lasted twenty minutes, the charger broke a record for a piece of Iznik pottery and established one of the highest prices for an Islamic work of art.

The exceptional charger was formerly in the collection of prolific bibliophile and businessman Max Debbane (1893-1965), who patronised many leading cultural institutions in the town of his birth, Alexandria, as well as serving as President of the Archaeological Society.

The ‘Debanne Charger’ was the top lot of Sotheby’s Arts of the Islamic World auction, which explored over 1000 years’ creation, spanning three continents to bring a total of £8,988,325 / $11,633,589 (est. £4,035,500- 6,052,000).

Edward Gibbs, Sotheby’s Middle East Chairman, said: “The fiercely competitive bidding on the Debanne Charger was led by a number of eminent institutions as well as private collectors from across the world. Opportunities to acquire great works of Iznik pottery from the fifteenth century are indescribably rare, with the most significant example last appearing at Sotheby’s in 1996, and this was reflected in the saleroom today. The new benchmark price of £5.4 million pounds was the highpoint of a successful week of auctions which included notable records for Arab and Iranian modern and contemporary artists, many of whom were making their debut on the international stage.”

20TH CENTURY ART / MIDDLE EAST
A vibrant international platform for Arab, Iranian and Turkish art, Sotheby’s 20th Century Art / Middle East auction totalled an above-estimate £2,488,000 / $3,231,663 (est. £1,596,500-2,193,500), with 82% of the lots finding buyers and of these, almost 70% exceeding their pre-sale high-estimates. The sale was led by an exceptional example of the important early artworks Iraqi modern master Mahmoud Sabri, whose powerfully defiant Jnazet (Funeral) from 1961 made £346,000 / $449,419 (est. £180,000-220,000). Further highlights included Iranian artist Monir Farmanfarmaian’s elegant Three Graces, inspired by Greek mythology, which sold for £187,500 / $243,544 (est. £120,000-180,000), and Bahman Mohasses’ melancholic 1978 painting of a female friend in Italy, which brought £162,500 / $211,071 (est. £80,000-120,000).

The curated section in the sale was dedicated to pioneering artists who made vital contributions to the art in the GCC saw strong results, setting records for conceptual Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem, leading Emirati artist Hassan Sharif and Saudi modernist Abdulrahman Al Soliman. The auction also set new records for Lebanese-American poet, essayist, and visual artist Etel Adnan, Lebanese Argentinian ‘Peintora des Flores’ Bibi Zogbé, Egyptian modernist artist Hamed Abdalla and Palestinian French painter Samir Salameh. A number of benchmarks were set for artists appearing at auction for the first time, including Egyptian painter Youseff Sida, Italian member of the Egyptian Surrealists Angelo de Riz and Iraqi French contemporary artist Mehdi Moutasha.