Sotheby’s sale of Arts of the Islamic World on 9 April 2014, will offer a variety of pieces originating from lands under Islamic patronage over 1400 years.
The top lot of this auction is a life-size, royal portrait of Qajar ruler Fath Ali Shah (Lot 87), attributed to Mihr Ali, Persia, circa 1810-15. There are many lustreware pieces from two European collections. These include a lustre pottery dish with a spread eagle (Lot 108) from Valencia, circa 1435 and a Kashan lustre star tile (Lot 8) featuring an onager (a large donkey) laid amongst foliage.
Important textile lots include an Ottoman metal-thread curtain of the Holy Ka’ba door (Lot 30) dated 1780 AD and a 19th century Ottoman silk Talismanic shirt (Lot 27). Notable carpets include a Central Anatolian rug (Lot 234) and a silk Yarkand carpet (Lot 214) from East Turkestan.
Lot 108, A Hispano-Moresque Lustre Pottery Dish Featuring A Spread Eagle, Valencia, Probably Manises, Circa 1435-60 Estimate £50,000 — 70,000
Lot 113, A Kashan Turquoise-Glazed Pottery Tile, Persia, 1280 AD Estimate £18,000 — 25,000
Lot 124, An Ilkhanid silk robe, Persia or Central Asia, 13th/14th Century Estimate £60,000 — 80,000
Lot 234, A Central Anatolian Rug Estimate £15,000 — 20,000
Lot 214, A silk Yarkand carpet, East Turkestan Estimate £20,000 — 30,000
Lot 30, An Ottoman metal-thread curtain of the Holy Ka’ba door, Egypt, period of Sultan Abdulhamid I, Dated 1194 AH/1780 AD Estimate £80,000 — 120,000
Lot 27, An Ottoman silk Talismanic Shirt, Turkey, 19th Century Estimate £8,000 — 10,000
Lot 65, A one-page Qur’an, copied by Haydazare Muhammad Salih, India, Mysore, Dated 1274 AH/1858 AD Estimate £15,000 — 20,000
Lot 87, A Qajar Royal portrait of Fath ‘Ali Shah attended by a Prince, attributed to Mihr ‘Ali, Persia, circa 1820 Estimate £1,500,000 — 2,500,000
Lot 8, A Kashan Lustre pottery star tile, Persia, circa 1300 Estimate £1,500 — 2,000
Lot 11, A manuscript of Firdausi’s Shahnameh: Suleyman and Bilqis enthroned with courtiers, animals, birds and jinns, and the illuminated opening of the Baysunghuri preface, Persia, Safavid, Shiraz, 16th Century Estimate £25,000 — 30,000