12 great works of Islamic art sold at Christie’s

From paintings and sculptures to weapons and decorative objects, the art of the Islamic world is extraordinarily diverse — as demonstrated by these storied masterpieces

The Córdoba deer
Sold for £3,631,500 on 25 April 1997

The Caliphate of Córdoba ran from 929 to 1031 AD. This Islamic realm, ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, comprised most of modern-day Spain and Portugal. Its capital was the southern city of Córdoba, on the outskirts of which the Umayyads built the great palace complex of Madinat al-Zahra.

It was beside a pool in the palace that this bronze fountainhead in the shape of a female deer originally stood. Water would have flowed up through a pipe into the base on which the hind stands, before passing through its hollow body and out through the mouth.

An important bronze fountainhead in the form of a hind, Umayyad Córdoba, Spain, circa mid-10th century. Height, hoof to ear, 17½ in (44.5 cm); including base 22¼ in (56.5 cm). Sold for £3,631,500 on 25 April 1997 at Christie’s in London

Among the sculpture’s distinguishing features is the representation of a textile that covers the slender neck and body: an incised pattern of small roundels filled with stylised palmettes. Also noteworthy are the well-defined mouth and delicate, tasselled mane.

It is possible that the work was once gilded. The 17th-century historian of Islamic Spain, al-Maqqari, claimed that the Umayyads had built a marble basin at Madinat al-Zahra surrounded by 12 golden animal sculptures with water flowing from their mouths. Alas, the palace was sacked and destroyed in the early 11th century, shortly before the caliphate’s fall, so the truth remains uncertain.

When the hind was offered at Christie’s in London in 1997, it became the most expensive Islamic artwork ever sold at auction — setting a record that would stand until 2010.

‘That truly was a landmark sale,’ says William Robinson, International Head of Islamic Art at Christie’s. ‘Not just because of the price fetched, but because of the buyer: the Qatari collector, Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Thani. This was the first auction he appeared at, and in the ensuing years he would add so much new impetus to the Islamic market as to transform it.’

Today, the bronze deer forms part of the MIA (Museum of Islamic Art) collection in Doha.

A royal Mamluk Qur’an
Sold for £3,724,250 on 2 May 2019

The Mamluks, who controlled Egypt and Syria from 1250 to 1517, were renowned — initially, at least — for their ruthless excellence in warfare. Over the course of their rule, however, more cultivated pursuits, such as art and architecture, also flourished. Across the land, they set up and generously endowed new complexes containing schools, mosques and hospitals.

Qur'an, signed Tanam al-Najmi al-Maliki al-Ashrafi, Mamluk Egypt, dated 21 Jumada I 894/30 April 1489. Folio 26¾ x 18 in (68 x 45.5 cm). Sold for £3,724,750 on 2 May 2019 at Christie’s in London

It is estimated that, during the reign of Sultan Qaytbay (1468-1496) alone, some 230 appeared, in cities such as Aleppo, Damascus, Jerusalem, Mecca, Alexandria and Cairo. A large Qur’an was generally commissioned to be donated to each one, and that was very probably the genesis of this example, which in 2019 fetched a world-record price for a Qur’an sold at auction.

We do not know which foundation it was intended for, but its enormous size (68 x 45.5 cm) — double that of most of the era’s equivalent Qur’ans — indicates that it must have been one of the most prestigious.

Its scribe, Tanam al-Najmi, was part of the royal scriptorium, and he included a double-page frontispiece with a dedicatory inscription to Sultan Qaytbay. This is painted in an elegantly angular Islamic script known as thuluth, in gold on a lapis lazuli ground.

‘Mamluk Qur’ans of this size with a royal dedication are extremely rare,’ says Robinson. ‘The message behind it seems to have been clear: your sultan is generous, and he is great.’

Clive of India’s Mughal flask
Sold for £2,917,250 on 27 April 2004

In the 1750s, Major-General Lord Robert Clive — better known today by his sobriquet, Clive of India — used military force to assert British colonial rule in the subcontinent and was named Governor of Bengal. A controversial figure both then and now, he ended up amassing one of the most important collections of Indian art and artefacts ever assembled.

One highlight was a stunning jewelled flask that had been produced for the Mughal royal court in Delhi in the 17th century (probably during the reign of Emperor Jahangir, from 1605 to 1627). It has a silver body onto which are fixed eight jade panels studded with rubies set in gold and bands of emeralds.

A magnificent Mughal ruby and emerald inset gold and silver lined and inlaid jade covered flask, North India, first half 17th century. 9¾ in (24.5 cm) high. Sold for £2,917,250 on 27 April 2004 at Christie’s in London

With its eye-catching spherical form, the flask, says Robinson, is ‘one of the most exquisite extant pieces of Mughal craftsmanship’. The rounded rubies’ golden surrounds create floral motifs, strikingly contrasted with the flat-cut emeralds, which are more densely set. The result is a sense of counterpoint all over the flask.

The object sold at Christie’s in London in 2004, after 40 years on loan at the Victoria and Albert Museum.


Workshop of Gentile Bellini (c. 1429-1507), Portrait of Sultan Mehmed II (1432-1481) with a Young Dignitary. 13⅛ x 17⅞ in (33.4 x 45.4 cm). Sold for £935,250 on 25 June 2020 at Christie’s in London

Portrait of Sultan Mehmed II
Sold for £935,250 on 25 June 2020

This portrait unites two great figures of the 15th century: the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, and the Venetian master Gentile Bellini. The fall of Constantinople to the former in 1453 sent shockwaves through Europe, prompting fear that an Islamic takeover might be imminent. That fear was only exacerbated by Ottoman victory in 1479 in a war against the Republic of Venice.

Mehmed demanded the Venetians send him their finest artist to paint his portrait, and Bellini duly travelled to Istanbul that same year. Not much is known of what occurred next. The Sultan seems to have kept the painter and his two assistants busy with commissions.

However, only one confirmed portrait of him by Bellini survives, now in the National Gallery in London. (Contemporary portraits of Mehmed by any artist are extremely rare.)

The depiction of Mehmed sold at Christie’s in 2020 drew closely on the National Gallery picture, the key point of difference being that it is a double portrait. The Sultan, on the right, is portrayed opposite an unidentified young man.

The identity of the painter is also unclear. The informal scenario — portraying another figure on equal footing with the Sultan — suggests that the work was commissioned outside the Ottoman court (where strict decorum mattered). This, in turn, suggests the hand not of Bellini himself but perhaps one of the two assistants with him in Istanbul.

The painting was purchased by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality — to the considerable delight of the locals, says Robinson: ‘There was a great deal of press in Istanbul at the time along the lines of “Mehmed’s coming home”!’

A 14th-century candleholder from Iran
Sold for €3,000,250 on 5 March 2008

In 2008, a team of Christie’s specialists uncovered some of the greatest treasures of the Islamic world — including this 14th-century candleholder — in an unassuming apartment in Paris.

It belonged to the 19th-century art collector Charles Gillot, who died suddenly in 1903, after which his home was left untouched for more than 100 years, surviving two world wars and the architectural juggernaut of Modernism.

Candleholder, Fars, southern Iran, first half of the 14th century. Height: 34.8 cm (13¾ in). Sold for €3,000,250 on 5 March 2008 at Christie's in Paris

Robinson recalls the shock on entering the premises. ‘What struck me most was the wooden interior,’ he says. ‘Gillot had commissioned Eugène Grasset, one of the most fashionable designers of the day, to create an interior that would incorporate his collection, including a large 14th-century wooden panel that he had brought back from Egypt.’

Islamic art was hugely popular in Europe in the late 1800s. ‘If you compare the results at auction at that time, a painting by Thomas Gainsborough would probably have gone for less than the price of an Islamic work of art,’ says the specialist.

Gillot was a member of a small group of enthusiasts who helped organise the first exhibition of Muslim art at the Union Central des Arts Décoratifs, lending several works from his collection for the occasion.

Candleholder, Fars, southern Iran, first half of the 14th century. Height: 34.8 cm (13¾ in). Sold for €3,000,250 on 5 March 2008 at Christie's in Paris

Robinson believes it was the quality of the workmanship and the refinement of the materials that excited 19th-century aesthetes. ‘There was intensive competition for objects by buyers, particularly in France where Islamic art was highly fashionable.’

Unsurprisingly, the sale of Charles Gillot’s collection at Christie’s was hotly anticipated.

‘We knew it was going to do well because of the provenance and the quality,’ says Robinson. ‘Buyers were bidding very heavily.’

Even so, the fight for the candleholder was unprecedented. ‘I remember the bidding jumping in single increments from €90,000 to €500,000, and from there to €1 million. At the time the world record for inlaid metal was around €400,000, so we knew something very exciting was happening.’

The candleholder eventually sold for just over €3 million, contributing to a total of €17.9 million achieved by the sale.

A Mamluk enamelled jug
Sold for £3,303,750 on 14 December 2000

‘I remember it well,’ says Robinson of the first time he saw the vessel pictured below, in 1999. ‘It was about as exquisite a piece of Mamluk glass as you will ever get.’

One of the defining features of the Mamluks’ reign was their intensive patronage of the arts and architecture. They left behind an immeasurable cultural heritage. Many of the monuments seen in Cairo today were built or enhanced by the Mamluk ruling elite, and the old city skyline is very much their creation.

This devotion to the arts was a result of the Mamluks’ unique feudal system, by which the children of sultans could not inherit. Instead, sultans secured their legacy by building mosques, palaces and madrasas, and filling the interiors with exquisite objects.

It is not known who commissioned the enamelled jug, but its shape, its lack of an inscription and the depiction of human figures set it apart. ‘As far as we know, there are only three other vessels that might be compared to it, and they are all in museum collections,’ says Robinson.

A Mamluk enamelled glass and gilded clear glass jug, Egypt or Syria, second half 13th century. 7¼ in (18.4 cm) high. Sold for £3,303,750 on 14 December 2000 at Christie’s in London

The jug was bought by the collector William Beckford (1760-1844) in the 1800s. ‘He was at the forefront of the Aesthetic Movement,’ says Robinson, ‘and one of the first to show it was not just the knowledge an object represented that was important, but its beauty.’

Beckford commissioned the artist Willes Maddox to paint his treasured belongings, and the jug features in the picture Objects of Vertu No. 3.

When the collector died, the jug passed to his daughter and then via Christie’s into the Rothschild collection, from where it was sold again by Christie’s in 2000.

A magnificent Qajar group portrait, attributable to Abdallah Khan Naqqashbashi (active 1800-1850), Tehran or environs, Iran, circa 1810-20. 101 x 174 in (256.5 x 442 cm). Sold for £2,302,500 on 1 April 2021 at Christie’s in London

Group portrait of Fath ’Ali Shah’s sons and grandsons
Sold for £2,302,500 on 1 April 2021

The reign of Fath ’Ali Shah on the Persian throne, from 1797 to 1834, was marked by pomp, opulence and an artistic renaissance. He chose to call himself ‘Shahanshah’ (King of Kings), reviving a title used by rulers of the ancient Achaemenid dynasty — and seeking to recreate the glories of Persia’s past.

Aware of art’s value in self-promotion, the Shah commissioned countless depictions of himself, ranging from rock reliefs to conventional oil paintings — as well as murals for his palaces in and around Tehran.

Sadly, few of those murals survive, and where they do, it is only in fragments. One such sold at Christie’s in 2020. It depicts 24 of Fath ’Ali Shah’s sons and grandsons, arranged in three rows of eight, at the New Year celebrations known as Nowruz (held every March to mark the spring equinox).

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They are dressed in exquisitely rendered, brilliantly coloured ceremonial attire, with rich gold detailing in the armlets, epaulettes, crowns, daggers and swords. This panel was originally part of a huge mural scene — by the great artist of his day, Abdallah Khan — with the enthroned Shah in the centre (the section depicting him is now lost).

‘You stand in sheer awe before these figures,’ says Robinson. ‘It’s all about a display of power: that of both the Shah himself and his dynastic descendants.

‘To call the work a “fragment” is perhaps slightly misleading, as it’s enormous in size [256.5 x 442 cm]. We had to hire a special plane big enough to fly it into London for the sale.’

A Mamluk mail coat
Sold for £243,500 on 23 April 1996

This mail coat bears the name of the man who commissioned it: Inal al-Ashraf (1318-1461), one of the Mamluk rulers who governed Egypt and Syria from 1250 until 1517.

The Mamluks were highly trained slaves who were brought to Egypt by the country’s previous rulers, the Ayyubids, and seized power for themselves when the opportunity arose.

A highly important Mamluk mail coat. Overall 37½ in (95 cm) high; front panels 10½ x 5⅝ in (26.7 x 14.3 cm). Sold for £243,500 on 23 April 1996 at Christie’s in London. Photo: Courtesy of Furusiyya Art Foundation

‘They initiated an extraordinary political system,’ says Robinson. ‘To become a sultan you had to be a first-generation immigrant mercenary, so essentially you had to fight your way to the top.’

With ruthless cunning and determination, the Mamluks dominated the region for more than two centuries, resisting invasions from both Christians and Muslims before eventually succumbing to the Ottomans in 1517.

The mail coat, which shows minimal wear — although what wear there is indicates the habits of its owner — dates from the period before Inal al-Ashraf became sultan, when he was in the Mamluk military and a provincial viceroy in Cairo.

The back of the Mamluk mail coat. Photo: Courtesy of Furusiyya Art Foundation

‘It is made of overlapping steel bars held together by chain mail, so it functions as a solid bit of steel when hit, but has the flexibility of a shirt,’ explains Robinson. ‘It prizes speed over power.’

It was almost certainly worn in combat and gives clues to Inal’s physiology. ‘It fits a man of about 6 ft 3 in, and the upper right panel has been rubbed down, suggesting he was right-handed,’ says Robinson.

The coat was held in the imperial armoury at the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul until the 19th century, when Sultan Abdul-Aziz sold many of the country’s treasures.

When the mail coat was offered for sale at Christie’s, bidding was fierce, but eventually the Furusiyya Art Foundation, based in Vaduz, Lichtenstein, won out. In 2008, the coat featured in the touring exhibition The Arts of the Muslim Knight.

The Palmer Cup
Sold for £1,732-10s on 17 July 1893

It is said that an ancestor of the Palmer-Morewood family won this ancient goblet from the King of France in a game of cards during the Crusades.

It’s a compelling story, but an apocryphal one. What is not disputed, however, is that the cup was almost certainly made in the Middle East around the year 1200, during the reign of the Ayyubids, the dynasty founded by Saladin.

The Palmer Cup, c. 1200-1250. 13.2 cm wide, 26.3 cm high, 13.2 cm deep. Sold for £1,732-10s on 17 July 1893. Photo: © The Trustees of the British Museum

‘It is a curious object,’ says Robinson. ‘It looks like a medieval Christian relic. The figures have halos and are reminiscent of saints lining up to worship a central figure. Yet the central figure looks like a Syrian king.’ It is likely the goblet was made for a Muslim patron.

The Ayyubids reigned from about 1170 to 1260 and were fascinated by Christian iconography. A decisive moment for the dynasty came when Sultan Saladin (1138-1193) took Jerusalem from the Christians in 1187, inheriting the city’s treasures and churches.

‘Suddenly you get this fusion of different influences,’ says the specialist. ‘What is important about this cup is that it has the quality of Islamic art but with Christian ideas. You can see why it was so covetable to Frankish patrons.’

Christie’s sold the cup in 1893 to a dealer buying on behalf of the Rothschild family, and it was subsequently donated to the British Museum.

The Shah Jahan dagger
Sold for $3,375,000 on 19 June 2019

This 17th-century dagger is a masterpiece of Mughal art, made in the time of the Emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1666), the dynasty’s greatest ruler.

At its zenith, the Mughal empire covered present-day northern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It became famous for the Taj Mahal, the Koh-i-Noor diamond and the Peacock Throne. Its nobles lived in indescribable luxury and extravagance, yet they were also warriors who succeeded in ruling their vast empire for more than three centuries.

The hilt of the Shah Jahan dagger (kard), North India, 1620-1630. 11⅝ in (29.7 cm) long; hilt 4⅜ in (11.1 cm) long. Sold for $3,375,000 on 19 June 2019 at Christie’s in New York

The dagger is unusual in that the jade hilt is carved into a head. ‘Whose head? We don’t know,’ says Robinson. Experts have suggested that it might be a cherub, a European or African king, or the Emperor Jahangir’s great rival, Malik Ambar, who ruled the Deccan region of India.

‘It is wonderfully restrained,’ says Robinson, ‘and still super-sharp. One of the features of a really well-made dagger is that when you hold it, it balances perfectly; there is no weight resistance.’

So the dagger was made to be used. ‘It was made to impress,’ says the specialist, ‘but at the same time there was no point in carrying a decorative dagger unless you were prepared to use it, and this one will do the job very efficiently.’

It is inscribed with the words sahib qiran thani (‘Second Lord of the [Celestial] Conjunction’), which was the description Shah Jahan used when he asserted ownership over objects.

The dagger was offered in the Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence sale at Christie’s in 2019 and bought by the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia.

A miniature painting of the building for King Dasaratha’s sacrifice
Sold for £1,763,750 on 10 October 2000

The Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556-1605) is one of the most fascinating rulers the world has ever known.

From the great city of Fatehpur Sikri, built from the red sandstone of Uttar Pradesh, this master strategist launched the expansion of the Mughal empire, extending its power and territory, amassing its fabled wealth and increasing his own glory.

According to Robinson, Akbar was obsessed by language: ‘Everything was verbal with him, and he was fascinated by argument. He designed a building in which representatives from different religious sects could talk to each other, so that he could work out which religion was the right one.’

The building for King Dasaratha's sacrifice, by Nur Muhammad, Mughal India, 1594. Folio 27 recto (p. 53), gouache heightened with gold on paper. Miniature 14 x 8¼ in (35.4 x 21 cm); text area 9½ x 5½ in (23.7 x 13.8 cm). Sold for £1,763,750 on 10 October 2000 at Christie’s in London

The Emperor assembled a large library of manuscripts, from which this miniature derives. ‘He had grown up in Persia,’ says Robinson, ‘and there was a fusion of Indian and Persian influences under Akbar’s rule. That fusion can be seen in this painting.’

The miniature is a scene from the Hindu epic the Ramayana, featuring King Dasaratha. Painted in 1594 by the artist Nur Muhammad, it comes from a manuscript commissioned by Akbar for his mother-in-law, Hamida Banu Begum, who was a devout Hindu.

In 2000, Christie’s sold the miniature to the Museum of Islamic art in Doha, where the bulk of the manuscript is held.

A Fatimid rock crystal ewer
Sold for £2.8 million on 7 October 2008

‘If you had to list your dream Islamic collection, a Fatimid rock crystal ewer would be on it, because it is practically unobtainable,’ says Robinson.

This 10th-century object is one of only seven surviving examples: others can be found in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, St Mark’s Basilica in Venice and the Louvre in Paris.

‘The last one to come onto the open market was in the late 1800s,’ says the specialist. ‘Before that, you have to go back to the medieval period.’

Ewers were carved from a single piece of rock crystal, which is as hard as toughened steel. Craftsmen would hollow out the crystal until it was only a couple of millimetres thick, then carve the design.

The ewer was made in Cairo in the late 10th or early 11th century, during the rule of the Fatimid caliphs, who had conquered Egypt in 969 under the command of General Jawhar (911-992), establishing the city of Al-Qahira (‘The Triumphant’), which remains the Arabic name for Cairo today.

Little survives from the Fatimid period. Of the vast list of treasures commissioned by the dynasty, almost all have vanished.

‘By the mid-11th century, the state had become so impoverished that much of the royal treasury had to be sold, which explains the sudden dispersal of these ewers,’ says Robinson.

The ewer was offered for sale at Christie’s in 2008 and bought by the Keir Collection. It is currently on view at the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas.