'Love' sells for more than $1mn at Dubai auction

RECORD BREAKER: Moshiri’s ‘Eshgh’, pictured, was the first Middle East work of art to sell at auction for over $1 million.

Iranian Farhad Moshiri became the first Middle East artist to achieve an auction sale of over $1 million, selling a work titled 'Eshgh' (Love) at a Dubai auction, Bonhams announced on Tuesday.

The UK-based auction house said Moshiri’s work, a Swarovski crystals and glitter on canvas, fetched a staggering $1.05 million, well above the $150-$200,000 reserve.

Iranian artists swept the auction, receiving the three highest bids for their various works.

Second place went to Charles Hossein Zenderoudi, whose untitled piece went for $504,000, and Parviz Tanavoli took came in third place with the sale of his work ‘Poet and the Bird’ which fetched $480,000.

Bonhams said the auction, its first in the region, achieved total sales of over $13 million - almost three times the expected result, with 94% of the lots sold.

The auction also saw a new world record for an auctioned Pakistani work of art, Gulgee’s ‘Polo Player’, which sold for $336,000 - more than four times the reserve.

“This is an unbelievable result for our first auction in this market, and proves beyond doubt that the United Arab Emirates is an emerging commercial hub for modern contemporary art from the region,” Matthew Girling, Bonhams chief executive for Europe and the Middle East, said in a statement.

“We’re firmly committed to the region and Bonhams is now here to stay - we feel this is definitely the start of something big… we now look forward to further building our business in the Middle East.”

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READERS' COMMENTS

Car Number Plates More Valauble Than Art?
Posted by Louie Tedesco, Dubai on Wednesday 5 March 2008 at 11:21 UAE time


It's a real shame that art is deemed of lesser value here than a car number plate! Unfortunately I belong to the breed of "poor and obscure" rather than the rich and famous who can throw baskets of money at the dumbest things.

Art has been cherished by mankind for thousands of years. I think it a shame that higher prices were not achieved at this auction and I hope that the international reputable auction houses continue to work here and show interest for art and culture in this region.

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