Time flies when you’re having fun… And when you’re stuck at home, apparently. 2021 went like a dream in sweatpants, or like a bad sequel to 2020, which was already not that great. Luckily, 2021 has also been the year of new encounters, collaborations and initiatives, and overall has been a busy year. Two highlights … More Happy New Year 2022 !
I admit it, this title might be a bit dramatic, but it is still an accurate depiction of the upcoming Islamic week, as, yes, there are bats. This year, Bonhams opens on the 25th October with a large catalogue of 342 lots, more than double since last Spring auction; Roseberys presents on the next day … More Islamic Week, Autumn 2021 or An Unexpected Number of Bats (blog)
All Islamic Art Historians working on large set of material data will tell you the same, spending hours going through auction catalogues to find the forgotten gem is part of the job. Writing my doctoral dissertation of Indian and Persian flower paintings produced between the 16th and the 18th centuries, I dissected countless of catalogues … More Auction Catalogues and Reattribution: a Difficult Exercise
The effect of the Pandemic on the London Islamic week of Spring 2021 The year 2020 has been challenging for the world and everybody on the planet has felt the impact on the pandemic. Not being out of the woods yet, the beginning of this year seems more hopeful with the promise of a vaccine … More After the Storm, Another Storm?
Click here to jump to the latest update (22nd Nov.) The challenges the world faces this year are of unprecedented magnitude, and with them, the fragile equilibrium of world economy has been thrown off balance completely. For museum and galleries, the blow is particularly hard, as most intitutions were already struggling keeping their doors open … More The Future of the Islamic Art Market could be Now
Unprecedented times, unprecedented auctions. The covid-19 pandemic has forced major houses to either move their auctions online or push back to a later date, a choice made by Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Bonhams and Dreweatts. Spring Islamic week was held from the 9th to the 25th June and despite the many restrictions, the results reflect the continuous support from collectors. … More A Delayed Islamic Week full of Questions: overview of June 2020 results
On the 10th June 2020, Sotheby’s will be presenting a painting of a narcissus flower signed by the 18th century Persian painting Muhammad Masih. The painting is not dated but the signature seems genuine, written in gold on each side of the base. To say that the painting rings a bell is an understatement. Indeed, … More The Mystery of the Narcissus
