ARTY

Aside from the private collection mentioned above, the highlight of the sale is a large oil on canvas triptych by the leading Iranian artist Mohammed Ehsai (b. 1939). Entitled Banquet (lot 79 – illustrated page 1) and painted in 2009, the monochrome black and white design reflects his fascination with calligraphy and is estimated at $350,000-500,000. 

Farhad Moshiri’s (b. 1963), Love, (shown here) a rare example from early in his Jars series, shows a jar inscribed with Eshgh the Arabic word for Love. By folding and crushing the canvas Moshiri mimicks the cracquelure effect of traditional earthenware pots (estimate: $150,000-250,000 – lot 71). Moshiri’s Mobile Talker, from his Candy Store series and painted in 2007 shows a fashionable young woman in a headscarf holding her ‘phone, the outline of her face, features and hands traced in blobs of glitter all superimposed onto a multi-tiered cake. This saccharine, artificial image plays to Moshiri’s interest in the new media-savvy generation of young Iranians, his love of Pop Art and issues of consumerism (estimate: $120,000-180,000 - lot 106). 

Untitled, one of only ten or twelve abstract works by Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1980), painted in 1970 with primary coloured lines and shapes set against a dark background carries an estimate of $200,000-300,000 (lot 80). It was exhibited last year in a retrospective of the artist’s work at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. An unnerving oil on canvas by Afshin Pirhashemi (b. 1974) Seduction, (shown here) painted this year, shows six women dressed in black robes advancing towards the viewer holding swords and pistols, each applying bright red lipstick??. Exploring the complexities of life in today’s Iran, it is estimated at $80,000-120,000 (lot 81). Kambiz Sabri’s (b.1967) Red Dive from 2008 is a red Toshiba television with a collection of red plastic toys attached, estimate $7,000- 10,000 (lot 114).