Auction season-Bonhams sees continued rising demand for Islamic Art, sells first Khalil Gibran work ever auctioned

Photo: Portrait of Mrs Alexander Morten by Khalil Gibran (Lebanon, 1883-1931) sold for 182,500 pounds inc. premium at Bonhams auction in April, 2016 / Courtesy Bonhams

London accommodates the largest marketplace for Islamic Art in the world, and at the heart of the market, the world’s three biggest auction houses, Bonhams, Christie’s, and Sotheby’s, are at the vanguard of a unique branch of the art market that incorporates cultural objects stretching from the 7th century CE until the present day. This season was no less competitive. This article is the final of three in-depth analyses from Salaam Gateway that offers an insight into a market alive with potential and space for new investment.

Last month, Bonhams’ Islamic Art auction saw continued rising demand and its Middle Eastern and Lebanese Modern and Contemporary sale broke no fewer than ten world records, including the first ever Khalil Gibran painting to be auctioned.

Although Bonhams has the least established Islamic Art department of London’s three main auction houses, under the leadership of Claire Penhallurick it flourished, particularly in sales of arms and armour.

Following an outstandingly successful season in 2015, the mantle passed to Oliver White, a specialist in the department for the past five years.

Of the sale of Islamic Art that took place on 19th April, White commented, “Within Islamic art, we saw a continuing demand for good quality manuscripts fresh to the market, in good condition, particularly manuscripts of the Quran; also high-quality Persian manuscripts. Perennial favourites, such as Iznik pottery, generally performed well, along with the best Safavid and Qajar Persian materials. Within Indian art, the main feature of the past few years has been the interest in Indian paintings, notably Mughal and Pahari examples. Mughal objects, especially jade and jewellery, have also performed well.”

Photo: Late 15th or early 16th centure illuminated Quran sold for 68,500 pounds at the Bonhams auction in April / Courtesy Bonhams

The sale made a total of 1,185,925 pounds ($1.7 million), with particular highlights including lot 86, a Timurid carved marble panel, and lot 17, a late 15th or early 16th century illuminated Quran, which fetched 68,500 pounds following a 20,000 - 30,000 pounds estimate.

“The 19th April auction featured the typical range of pieces from across the Islamic and Asian world, from the 10th to the early 20th century.  We had one of the strongest selections of manuscripts to date, as well as a well-known private U.S. collection of Indian paintings, which attracted a good deal of interest,” said White.

“I think it’s fair to say this sale had a broader appeal with a really eclectic mix of pieces and styles. The Timurid carved marble panel, which sold for 89,000 pounds, was an intriguing piece, the exact function of which was debated. The possibility that it was the back of a throne  - and we subscribed to that view - only added to its mystique. As both an astonishing, impressive survival, and as an example of Timurid decorative motifs, it was a worthy centrepiece to the sale, and the selling price reflects this,” White added.

Photo: Farid Aouad's Opera Garnier sold for 74.500 pounds at the Bonhams auction in April, 2016 / COurtesy Bonhams

10 WORLD RECORDS, FIRST GIBRAN WORK TO BE AUCTIONED

The auctions for Middle Eastern and Lebanese Modern and Contemporary, held during the following week on 27th April, were resounding proof of the investment power available within this category.

Breaking no fewer than ten world records for modern and contemporary works from the Middle East, the sales were divided to reflect a current market interest in works from Lebanon.

The top lot in the Lebanese sale was the Portrait of Mrs Alexander Morten by Khalil Gibran, a ‘towering figure’ in 20th century art and literature.

It featured in his first exhibition in New York in 1914, but then remained unseen for 100 years and is the first painting by the poet and artist ever to be auctioned.

It sold for 182,500 pounds, reaching almost ten times the original estimate of 20,000 - 30,000 pounds. It was bought by a Lebanese institution, and after spending over a century in the West, will return to the country where Gibran was born.

Opera Garnier by Farid Aouad sold for 74,500 pounds, far surpassing its pre-sale estimate of 40,000 - 60,000 pounds. One of the largest and most prominent works by a Lebanese artist, largely unappreciated in his lifetime, Aouad's work has since been shown in museums across Lebanon and Europe. 

Opera Garnier was exhibited at one of the most important retrospectives of Lebanese Art to date, Art From Lebanon, at the Beirut Exhibition Centre in 2012.

Another leading work in the sale was The Beirut City Center Egg by Ayman Baalbaki (born 1975), which sold for 86,500 pounds. At 41, Baalbaki has achieved the highest price at auction for a contemporary Lebanese artist.

The 'Egg' – as it is fondly referred to by the people of Beirut – is a partially destroyed cinema complex built in the Brutalist style. The bombed out building has become a monument of the civil war and a historic landmark in its own right. Baalbaki's subjects are often war-torn buildings, and his painting of the instantly recognizable Egg is one of his largest and most iconic pieces.

Photo: Ayman Baalbaki's The Beirut City Center Egg sold for 86,500 pounds at Bonhams auction in April / Courtesy Bonhams

In the Middle Eastern sale, the top selling lot was Nubian House, the largest work ever to come to auction by Hussein Bicar, a pioneering Egyptian artist, illustrator, painter and poet. Estimated at 70,000- 100,000 pounds, it sold for 319,300 pounds achieving the record price for a Modern Arab painting sold in London.

“It has been a ground breaking sale,” said Nima Sagarchi, head of the Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern art department at Bonhams.

“Despite the fact that many of the artists are well established, both in Lebanon and elsewhere, this is the first time that many of them have come to the market. A number of pieces have been purchased by Lebanese buyers, and in many ways it is a great homecoming for the country’s modern and contemporary masterpieces. But it also marks a turning point in the importance of Middle Eastern art on an international stage.”

Photo: Hussein Bicar's Nubian House sold for 319,300 pounds at Bonhams auction in April / Courtesy Bonhams

ISLAMIC ART OUTPERFORMED EQUITY AND DEBT MARKETS OVER LAST DECADE

It seems that this season’s Islamic and Modern/Contemporary Middle Eastern art sales in London demonstrate an optimism for these markets.

A research paper published last year by William McQuillan and Brian Lucey investigated the ‘validity of Islamic Art as an investment product’.

Their findings showed that, contrary to some surface-level opinions in the market, returns on Islamic art out-performed both the equity and debt markets over the last ten years.

This paper cites the 2008 Bonhams sale of modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art, which made $13 million – more than three times its pre-sale estimate – as a threshold after which Islamic Art ‘first broke through to world recognition’.

The paper explores how London became the locus of the Islamic Art market, and demonstrates how the stability of the market relates to the percentage of regional buyers within and outside the UK.

Whilst institutions have historically bolstered prices for the more desired objects, the growing wealth in the Middle East is also exerting influence on the market. McQuillan and Lucey wrote that private actors will be increasingly active in the market as incomes rise and demand expands.

In all, the season’s sales results point to the availability of opportunities for newcomers to the market, both for collectors and private individuals.

© SalaamGateway.com 2016