All lots "Islamic art" Advanced search

197 results

Live in progress

A LARGE SAFAVID BLUE AND WHITE POTTERY DISH PERSIA, 17TH CENTURY 十七世纪萨法维 波斯青花盘 painted with a Chinese style landscape scene with mountains and pagoda, the reverse with three flower sprays and a pseudo leaf or tassel mark 40.5cm diam PROVENANCE: From the Private Collection of the Late George Withers (1946-2023). NOTE: For a similar dish see: Bonhams, London, Islamic and Indian Art including Contemporary Indian and Pakistani Paintings, 28th of April, 2005, lot 532.

Estim. 500 - 1 000 GBP

Live in progress

A STEEL AND GOLD-INLAID DAGGER (KARD) PERSIA, 18TH CENTURY 十八世纪波斯 错金匕首 with a Marine ivory hilt and embossed silvered-metal sheath 34cm long, sheath 30cm long PROVENANCE: From the Private Collection of the Late George Withers (1946-2023).

Estim. 400 - 600 GBP

Live in progress

A FINE OTTOMAN GEM-SET JADE-HILTED DAGGER AND SCABBARD 18TH / 19TH CENTURY 十八/十九世纪 奥斯曼宝石镶玉匕首及套 with a gold inlaid watered steel blade and a gilt metal-mounted shagreen scabbard 38.5cm long, scabbard, 32cm long PROVENANCE: From the Private Collection of the Late George Withers (1946-2023).

Estim. 800 - 1 200 GBP

Tue 21 May

RARE SET OF PORTRAITS OF IRANIAN KINGS Qajar Iran, first half of the 19th century Pigments and gold on paper, each depicted seated against a simple blue, green and ochre background, each portrait identified in Persian, mounted on beige, salmon or blue card, edge chipping, small chips in margins, paintings in good condition. Size: 21.4 x 14.5 cm (painting); 29.2 x 20 cm (page). Provenance : Former Rudolf Wacker collection (1893-1939) Then by descent, private Austrian collection A Rare Group of Six Portraits of Kings of Iran, Qajar Iran, First Half 19th century These six paintings were part of a series that was to include a larger number of portraits of the kings of Iran. The six surviving kings are identified as Sultan Mahmud (of Ghazni), Shah Tahmasp (Safawi), Shah 'Abbas (Safawi), Nadir Shah (Afshari), Karim Khan Zand (r. 1751-79) and Lutf 'Ali Khan Zand (r.1789-94). The style of these paintings appears to be that of early Qajar portraits, particularly in view of the style of jewelry worn by the sovereigns. On the other hand, the prototype of the royal portrait depicting the sovereign seated on his knees in a simple interior can be found as early as the time of Nadir Shah (r. 1736-47, see for example Nadir Shah by Muhammad Reza in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, IM.20-1919, dated circa 1740). One of the finest examples of this style shows the first Shah of the Qajare dynasty, Fath 'Ali, richly adorned and seated on his knees in a bare interior but on a luxurious carpet. The work is attributed to the artist Mirza Baba, dated circa 1798 (Layla S. Diba with Maryam Ekhtiar, Royal Persian Paintings, The Qajar Epoch, 1785-1925, London and New York, 1998, cat. 37, p.180). This type of royal and aristocratic portraiture seems to have lasted until the mid-nineteenth century.

Estim. 6 000 - 8 000 EUR

Tue 21 May

DOUBLE ILLUMINATED FRONTISPIECE In the style of Ahmad al-Nayrizi (calligraphy) and Muhammad Hadi (illumination). Iran, Safavid, Afsharid or Zand period, circa 1720-80 Gold and pigments on paper, each leaf decorated with a purple mandorla inscribed in fine gold thuluth characters on a background of foliage, the medallions on a gold background painted with vines laden with bunches of grapes, gold rules in the margins, the reverse of one leaf with a prayer in Arabic and its Persian translation under an illuminated cartouche. Size: 23 x 14.7 cm (each page) Provenance : Mahmud Khayami Collection of Persian Art, London and Geneva Bibliography: The Khayami Collection of Persian Art, A Concise Catalogue, Vol.I, cat.91, p.104 A finely gold-illuminated frontispiece in the style of Ahmad al-Nayrizi and Muhammad Hadi, from a prayer book, Safavid, Afsharid or Zand Iran, circa 1720-80 The Arabic inscription on the frontispiece is in praise of Imam 'Ali. The refined naskhi calligraphy, set against a crimson background, immediately recalls the work of Safavid master calligrapher Ahmad al-Nayrizi (circa 1682-1722). He is credited with reviving the naskhi style in 17th-century Iran, which remained popular until the Qajare era. Shah Sultan Husayn (r. 1694-1722) employed him on numerous royal commissions. As for the gold illuminations, they are closer to the work of the artist Muhammad Hadi, responsible for decorating the famous St. Petersburg album. The two artists collaborated on a prayer book whose first folios are particularly close to our frontispiece. The manuscript, dated 1719-20, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2003.239). Another prayer book signed by Ahmad al-Nayrizi and probably illuminated by Muhammad Hadi, also dated 1719-20, sold at Sotheby's, London, October 24, 2018, lot 45. The frontispiece is almost identical to ours, with two blue mandorles standing out against a background of gold-painted vines. Judging by the refinement of our frontispiece and the similarities with the New York and London manuscripts, it is possible that it is the work of Ahmad al-Nayrizi and Muhammad Hadi. Lot temporarily imported. The buyer will have to pay import fees, i.e. 5.5% in addition to the hammer price, unless the lot is immediately re-exported outside the European Union.

Estim. 3 000 - 4 000 EUR

Tue 21 May

QIBLA INDICATOR HOUSING Iran, Safavid period, probably second half 17th or early 18th century Circular, hinged brass case, incised with cursive inscriptions on all four sides. On three of them, a series of concentric bands giving the names of Iranian cities on two sides, and Egyptian, Iraqi, Syrian and Lebanese cities on the third, in fine calligraphy on a guilloche background, alternating with compartmentalized bands filled with letters; on the fourth side, inside, nine captioned directional lines indicating Mecca in particular. Marks of oxidation, graduations, needle and fixing plate missing, lid detached. Diameter: 7 cm Provenance : Sotheby's, London, October 3, 2012: n°184 (ill.) A Safavid brass qibla compass, Iran, probably second half of the 17th or early 18th century Inscription on the edge: Two Persian couplets containing information on how to use the Qibla indicator The qibla indicator is the most representative scientific tool in Islamic culture, enabling the faithful to direct their prayer towards Mecca. The Safavid period in Iran was very active in qibla research, as evidenced by the many treatises and tools produced during this period. For a complete example, see AST0443 at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and another at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford (1935-4). Our example in particular shows the qibla from the main Shiite pilgrimage cities: Mecca, Medina, Najaf, Kerbala, Kazimayn, 'Askariyyan, Qum, Mashhad and 'Abd al-'Azim. This example is very close to a Qibla indicator signed by Muhammad Khalil bin Hasan 'Ali and dated 1080 A.H./1669 A.D, sold at Sotheby's, London, October 23, 2019, lot 129. Another, also very similar, though dated to the 19th century, is in the Khalili collection in London (SC138). It was in Isfahan that Muhammad Khalil and other makers such as 'Abd al-A'imma Muhammad Mahdi al-Yazdi produced numerous scientific instruments such as astrolabes, dials and Qibla indicators. It is very likely that our indicator was also the product of an Isfahan workshop. For other similar examples sold at public auction see Millon, Paris, December 3, 2018, lot 187; Sotheby's, London, March 31, 2021, lot 68 and April 26, 2017, lot 171. Lot temporarily imported. The buyer will have to pay import fees, i.e. 5.5% in addition to the hammer price, unless he immediately re-exports the lot outside the European Union.

Estim. 3 000 - 4 000 EUR

Tue 21 May

ALBUM PAGE: PRINCE BRAVES THE ENEMY ARMY TO VISIT HIS BELOVED Lucknow, Provincial Mughal School, North India, circa 1760 Pigments and gold on paper, the nocturnal scene showing the belle hidden in a chapel and waiting for her prince, saddhus dozing outside, the prince turning towards his pursuers, the painting completed around the perimeter, mounted on card with gilded floral margins, the reverse adorned with a fine Persian quatrain in nasta'liq in gilded latticework margins. Size: 14.3 x 21 cm (painting); 22.5 x 29.5 cm (page) Provenance : Collection F. Prévost Collection, N.260 Scène nocturne with calligraphy on reverse - 18th century N. 350 (label on reverse) An Album Page with a Painting of A Nocturnal Visit of a Prince to His Beloved Lucknow, Provincial Mughal India, Circa 1760 This interesting painting was mounted as an album page in the second half of the 18th century, with elegant Persian calligraphy on the reverse. Examination of the painting reveals that it has been completed around the perimeter in the manner of the paintings in the famous St. Petersburg Album. Indeed, many of the paintings in the album were completed during its production in Iran in the second half of the 18th century. Now partly dispersed, the album contains 17th-century Mughal Indian works, as well as works painted at the court of Lucknow in the mid-18th century. Two paintings of women visiting male saints at night, executed in the style of the painter Mir Qalan Khan, are reminiscent of the atmosphere of our nocturnal visit (Toby Falk, The St. Petersburg Muraqqa', Lugano, 1996, pl.16 and 18). Princess going to a holy place at night by Mir Kalan Khan, a work dating from 1760 and kept at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is another nocturnal scene in which round, luminous figures move through a luxuriant forest, reminiscent of our painting. (AC1197.30.1, Stephen Markel with Tushara Bindu Gude, India's Fabled City, The Art of Courtly Lucknow, Los Angeles, 2011, cat. 15, pp.164 and 252).

Estim. 3 000 - 5 000 EUR

Mon 27 May

Manises dish; late sixteenth century / early seventeenth century. Glazed ceramic. It has a small hole on one side made to hang the piece. Measurements: 31 cm (diameter). Glazed ceramic dish with a hole in the center. It has a design composed of geometric and vegetal elements, the latter located on the outer perimeter. Lustre-painted ceramics will be the great art of the Nasrid period, although it was born in Almohad Spain between the second half of the 12th and the first half of the 13th century. It is a technique of Persian origin, the first documents referring to it being found in the year 1066, although no examples prior to the 12th century have come down to us. It is a glazed ceramic, that is to say, with a white glaze bath, very pure in the best examples, which is fired in the kiln. On it, already cold, it is decorated with a pigment composed of five basic ingredients: copper, silver, sulfur, almazarrón (iron oxide) and vinegar. The final tone will depend on the proportion of these components, resulting more golden if it has a greater amount of silver, and more reddish if copper predominates. Finally, the piece is fired a second time at 650ºC, in a reducing atmosphere, to fix the decoration. Once the piece is fired, the decoration is black, so it has to be burnished to obtain the final shiny metallic gold tone. During the Nasrid period, between the 13th and 15th centuries, in the luster pieces we will see all the ornamental repertoire of Hispano-Muslim ceramics: hand of Fatima, "ohm", knot, ataurique, epigraphy, vegetal motifs, scales, imbricated decorations, etc., always with compositions that fill the entire space, with a certain character of "horror vacui". As we see in this piece, in the following centuries the style will continue in Christian territory, maintaining the dense compositions and the linear, vegetal and geometric motifs, although elements that did not exist in Islamic art will be added, as is the case of the reliefs that are the protagonists of this plate. It has a small hole on one side made to hang the piece.

Estim. 1 400 - 1 600 EUR

Mon 27 May

Lamp; Khorasan, Persia, 12th century AD. Bronze. It has mineral deposits adhered to the surface and restorations on the fracture line located at the base and shaft. Measurements: 74.5 x 21.5 cm. Lamp that is arranged on a base and a high shaft. As it is habitual in these objects, the lucerna would be filled with oil, and a wick would be lit that would protrude through the spout to give light, burning the liquid and not the fabric used in this wick. The word lucerna comes from the Greek "lukno". Its basic function was to give light, but it was also used as a votive and funerary element. The first skylights were made by hand, then by lathe, and from the third century B.C. by mold, generally in ceramics, although there were more careful pieces, in materials such as bronze and brass. Khorasan was a province in northeastern Iran, although historically it refers to a much larger area comprising the east and northeast of the Persian Empire. The name Khor?s?n is Persian and means "from where the sun comes".The name was first given to the eastern province of Persia during the Sassanid Empire and was used in ancient times in distinction to neighboring Transoxiana. The province encompassed approximately the western half of the historic Greater Khorasan. The modern boundaries of the Iranian province of Khorasan were formally defined in the late 19th century and the province was divided into three separate administrative divisions in 2004. It presents mineral deposits adhered to the surface and restorations in the fracture line located at the base and shaft.

Estim. 4 000 - 5 000 EUR