Islamic art under the hammer and under pressure?
Photo: A large Quran leaf in gold Kufic script on blue vellum, North Africa or Near East, 9th-10th century, sold for 365,000 pounds in April 2015 / Courtesy Sotheby's
In two months’ time, buyers will be competing for another trove of rare and often beautiful objects in the auction rooms of London. The city’s major auction houses are still finalising the line-up of what will be in their April sales of Islamic art and art from the Islamic world, but some details have already been released.
Among the items on offer at Sotheby’s will be a tortoiseshell, pearl-and-brass scribe’s box from 16th century Turkey carrying an estimated sale price of 300,000 to 500,000 pounds. Also on sale is a rare Quran leaf written in eastern Kufic script, thought to be from Persia or Central Asia and dating to between A.D.1075 and A.D. 1125. It carries an estimated value of 200,000 to 300,000 pounds.
MARKET IN FLUX
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Dominic Dudley