Collecting 101

1.

Where Three Continents Meet

Middle Eastern Art at Bonhams represents the various Modernist movements and schools that came about at the point ‘where three continents meet’. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, a number of countries achieved nationhood and Modernism flourished in the Middle East. Encompassing work made from the 1920s to the 1980s in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran and North Africa, Middle Eastern art captures the social and cultural spirit of its time and plays an important role as a chronicle of the region’s various cultures.

2.

Rooted in Craft

While many Western traditions tend to separate art from craft, in the Arabic and Persian language there is no distinction between the two. The idea of the artist as a craftsman who is tasked with perfecting his skill runs strong in Middle Eastern art. This balance between craft and concept is reflected in the painting and sculpture of Middle Eastern Modernism which is uniquely connected to its ancient and medieval roots, both thematically and stylistically.

3.

Middle Eastern Artists and the Avant-Garde

20th century Middle Eastern artists were much more embedded and connected to the international art scene than most people imagine; many of the major artists of the Middle East studied or practiced extensively abroad in Paris, the UK and Italy, and some were key members of Western art movements, such as the Iranian artist Manuchehr Yektai who was involved with the New York School of Abstract Expressionism.

Further artists from the region who made a name for themselves in the West include Iraqi painters Jewad Selim and Dia Azzawi, who are famous for combining novel Western modes of artistic expression with local Iraqi subject matters and Arabic cultural motifs, as well as Iranian artist Monir Farmanfarmaian who collaborated with Andy Warhol and enjoyed the rare honour of a Guggenheim retrospective in her lifetime. In Egypt, where Modernism began much earlier, Mahmoud Moukhtar, the country’s finest sculptor, became known for his daring compositions which harkened back to the style of Ancient Egyptian sculpture but with modern Egyptians as his subject matter, elevated to the status of pharaohs or princesses.

4.

On the Market

While the market for Middle Eastern art might seem well established now, it wasn’t always the case. Until fairly recently it was mostly centred around local galleries and collectors with leading artists’ works displayed in major museums and institutions. Demand for Middle Eastern art grew significantly from 2006 when auction houses started holding specialised sales which encouraged major collectors and museums in the Gulf to start buying. Since then, the market has been steadily rising, and with more and more collectors becoming interested in the category, the focus has shifted to the UK where, in 2016, Mahmoud Said's L'Ile Heureuse was the first work of Middle Eastern art to reach £1 million at auction in London - sold by Bonhams at our New Bond Street saleroom.

Over the years we have seen huge demand for pieces connected to the development of the key art movements in the Middle East between the 1940s and 80s, such as the Neo-Traditionalist artists of Iran, the Baghdad School of Modern Art in Iraq, the Egyptian Surrealists and the Khartoum School in Sudan. In particular, collectors are seeking out pieces by the leading protagonists of these key schools of Modernism which reflect and embody the development of the unique aesthetic of the time and region.

5.

History and Provenance

While authenticity and provenance are always of huge importance when buying art on the secondary market, these two factors are particularly important for Middle Eastern art, as a lot of the countries in question were ravaged by war, revolution and turmoil, and many of the artists lack foundations or committees to delegate on matters of authenticity. We advise collectors to be sure that the work they are interested in has transparent provenance and clarity on title. If you have any doubts in this matter, you should always speak to a specialist.

For more from our Middle Eastern Art team, follow @bonhamsmiddleeast on Instagram.