Orientalist and Islamic World artworks to be auctioned at Sotheby’s London
A masterpiece by Bohemian painter, Georg Emmanuel Opiz, painted circa 1805-25, is set to establish a record for the artist at auction when offered at Sotheby’s London on 25th April. Estimated at GBP800,000-1,200,000, "The Arrival of the Mahmal at an Oasis en route to Mecca", is a lavish and wonderfully detailed rendition of the Ottoman caravan of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
Opiz’s monumental work will headline Sotheby’s Orientalist Sale which brings together paintings and sculptures representing the landscapes, people, and customs of North Africa, Egypt, the Levant, Arabia, and the Ottoman world during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The auction will be followed by the Sotheby's Arts of the Islamic World sale on 26th April, covering more than a thousand years of artwork spanning multiple continents, led by works from prestigious collections.
Unseen for decades and appearing at auction for the first time, the Argine Benaki Salvago Collection, a selection of museum-quality Ottoman textiles, comprises important velvets, brocades and silks.
The auction will also include the second part of the renowned collection of the late Jafar Ghazi, which comprises twenty-two manuscripts and calligraphies. Each work was selected by Ghazi as an example of the highest-quality calligraphy from multiple Islamic courts over several continents.
