Yousef Seifi, Mehr Magazine: Today, art auctions have gained significant popularity, and buying and collecting these works is considered highly important and valuable.
Amidst this, Iranian artworks have found a special place in major international auctions, selling for substantial prices.

Christie’s Middle East Auction
Christie’s Middle East auction is held twice a year by Christie’s auction house in Dubai, primarily featuring contemporary art from Middle Eastern countries. Iranian artists have held records in various editions of this auction. Farhad Moshiri, Koroush Shishegaran, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Shirin Neshat, Faramarz Pilaram, Reza Derakhshani, Sadaqat Jabari, Rokni Haeri-zadeh, Sadegh Tabrizi, Azra Aqiqi, Golnaz Fathi, and Masoud Arabshahi are some of the artists whose works have been presented at this auction. This auction is essentially a branch of the large Christie’s auction house, with its main offices in London and New York, which holds international art auctions worldwide.
This auction is actually a branch of the large Christie’s auction house, with its headquarters in London and New York, which holds international art auctions worldwide. In the 18th edition of this auction, numerous Iranian works participated, and 100% of them were sold. Moreover, two works by Iranian artists secured the fourth and fifth positions. Particularly noteworthy were the four-fold increase in the estimated price of Bahman Dadkhah’s sculpture and the three-fold increase in the initial price of the painting by Hamed Sadrarhami, the youngest Iranian artist present at this edition. The significant sales of works by Bahman Mohases, Sonia Balasanian, Farhad Moshiri, and others marked a remarkable success for Iranians on the evening of March 18th in Dubai. An abstract painting by Sohrab Sepehri and a calligraphy piece by Seyed Mohammad Ahsayi were each sold for $161,000 in the latest round of this auction. The work of the youngest Iranian artist present at the 18th Christie’s auction, Hamed Sadrarhami, was sold for $38,000, more than three times the initial estimate. This triptych, titled “Why Not?”, was from the “Iranbano” collection. This edition of Christie’s Dubai auction generated $100 million in sales.
Bonhams Auction in London
“Bonhams Middle Eastern auction is one of the branches of this English auction house, and its most recent edition was held in London a short while ago, with Iranian artworks shining brightly.”
In the previous edition of this auction last year, Iranian art had a stronger presence than its competitors, with 42 works from 34 artists. An untitled work by Sohrab Sepehri set a record for the auction, selling for £146,500. Other participating artists included Zenderoudi, Ahsaei, Moshiri, Derakhshani, Kiarostami, Agdashlu, and Pirhashemi.
In this auction, Hussein Zenderoudi secured the fourth position with sales of £98,500, Farhad Moshiri came in fifth with £72,100, and Mohammad Ahsaei took the sixth spot with £68,500.
The presence of Iranian artworks in this auction has increased over the years, and now works by Iranian artists are considered core members of this auction house.