Views of Turkey among top sales

LONDON

Sotheby’s Orientalist Sale went under the hammer on April 23 in London. The sale brought a total of £6,339,500 (US$9,679,149), exceeding the pre-sale high estimate of £2.6-3.8 million). The top lot was Ludwig Deutsch’s “The Offering,” which was sold to a private collector for £2,154,500 (US$3,289,491) against a pre-sale estimate of £500,000-700,000.

The auction also featured three 19th century views of Turkey, by Alberto Pasini, Herman Corrodi, and Ippolito Caffi.

The Orientalist Sale was part of Sotheby’s Art of the Middle East & Turkey week, which featured the biannual Arts of the Islamic World auction which took place yesterday.

Commenting on the results of the sale, Claude Piening, Sotheby’s Head of Orientalist Paintings, said that their sale confirmed the robustness of the Orientalist market, with top quality works attracting international interest and commanding extremely strong prices.“‘The Offering’ achieved a new record price for Deutsch at auction,” she added.

Three out of the top five prices were for Turkish views. “We were delighted with these results which are very telling about the strength of this particular market for works of the highest quality. Turkish collectors are currently active across an ever-wider range of collecting categories, among which Orientalist paintings feature large,” said Oya Delahaye, Head of Sotheby’s Turkey.

A further selection of views of Turkey will be offered as part of Sotheby’s London sale on May 23.