LONDON.- Sotheby’s sale of 20th Century Art – A Different Perspective in London on 2 December 2015 saw six new records set for works of modern Arab and Iranian art. The sale was led by Egyptian artist Mahmoud Mokhtar's sculpture, On the Banks of the Nile (Nahw Ma’a ElNil), which sold for £317,000. Appearing for the first time at auction, this elegant bronze depicting an Egyptian 'fellaha' collecting water was pursued by numerous bidders, driving the sale price to around ten times the low estimate.

The auction featured a group of outstanding artists from the Middle East – the innovators and influencers of their respective countries – stretching from the 1950s until the early 1980s. Records were set for the Moroccan artist Ahmed Ben Driss el Yacoubi, whose painting The Battle of Marrakesh sold for £37,500 (estimate £12,000-18,000), and the Lebanese artist Helen Khal, whose untitled abstract oil realised £47,500 (estimate £20,000-30,000). Alongside the exceptional result for the Mokhtar, there were further strong results of artists of Egyptian origin, with new records set for Mounir Canaan and Ezekhiel Baourkh. An untitled canvas by the Iranian artist Behjat Sadr, whose work featured in last year’s exhibition, Iran: Unedited History,1960-2014 at the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris, sold for £56,250, a new record for the artist at auction.

Overall, the sale brought a total of £2,274,500.

ARTIST RECORDS

• LOT 24, Ezekiel Baroukh, Untitled, ESTIMATE 6,000-8,000 GBP, Sold for 18,750 GBP

• LOT 35, Mounir Canaan, Untitled, ESTIMATE 12,000-18,000 GBP, Sold for 20,000 GBP

• LOT 36, Behjat Sadr, Untitled, ESTIMATE 38,000-45,000 GBP, Sold for 56,250 GBP

• LOT 43, Ida Aslanian, Untitled, ESTIMATE 7,000-10,000 GBP, Sold for 18,750 GBP

• LOT 45, Helen Khal, Untitled, ESTIMATE 20,000-30,000 GBP, Sold for 47,500 GBP

• LOT 52, Ahmed Ben Driss El Yacoubi, The Battle of Marrakesh, ESTIMATE 12,000-18,000 GBP, Sold for 37,500 GBP