Tehran Auction sells out entire collection on first sale

TEHRAN,June 24(MNA) -- Tehran experienced its first big art auction here on Friday at the Parsian Azadi Hotel, where the entire collection being offered was sold out. Organized by the Persian quarterly Art Tomorrow, the Tehran Auction set a new record in the history of Iranian auctions at its first evening sale, selling all 73 items and raising over $180 million. Head of the sale and Managing Director of the quarterly Alireza Sami-Azar and Michael Jeha, Managing Director of Christie’s Middle East were among the participants who watched actor Reza Kianian leading the event. A painting by Sohrab Sepehri was the star of the night and the highest-priced item sold at the auction fetching over $154,000. The next highest price went to calligrapher Mohammad Ehsaii’s “Allah”, which sold for over $97,000. A small statue by Parviz Tanavoli stood third with over $94,000. Works by Masud Arabshahi, Sedaqat Jabbari and Nasrollah Afjeii also came next. “Snow White”, a photo by filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami was the surprise of the auction, gaining over $29,000. A photo by Kianian was the second highest-priced photo sold at over $10,000. Kianian donated the entire sum to the quarterly. The hotel hosted an exhibition of the items over the last week.