Sotheby Islamic Art Auction to Net $18m

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Sotheby’s forthcoming arts of the Islamic World sale is estimated to realise in excess of $18 million.In 2007, the company witnessed sales of Islamic, and modern and contemporary Arab and Iranian art fetching more than £20 million.This year’s Arts of the Islamic World Sale, to be held on April 9, will comprise more than 400 lots of rare and important works of art, including metalwork, manuscripts, weaponry, ceramics, textiles and paintings that span from the 7th century through to the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the company said in a statement.The sale, which is expected to realise in excess of £9 million, is set to attract enormous interest from collectors and connoisseurs of Islamic Art across the globe.The most important work in the upcoming sale will be the 14th-century gold and enamel Royal Belt Buckle (illustrated front page) from Al-Andalus, which was produced during the Nasrid period (AD 1230-1492) in Granada, Spain. The buckle, which is inscribed with ‘Glory to our lord, the Sultan’, is an extraordinary example of the art of the goldsmiths in 14th-century Islamic Spain. It is likely to fetch more than £600,000.A fine group of sacred relics, including an Abbasid ka’ba key and some 22 holy cloths, will also be included in the auction. The ka’ba key is arguably one of the most powerful symbols of Islam and this is the only one known to remain in private hands. It is estimated at £400,000-500,000.