Christie’s was first founded in London by James Christie in 1766.
Some Iranian artists’ works so far have broken records in Christie’s Middle East (Dubai), including works by Reza Derakhshani, Sohrab Sepehri, Mohammad Ahsayi, Faramarz Pilaram, Shirin Neshat, Koroush Shishehgeran, Farhad Moshiri, MAsoud Arabshahi, Sadegh Tabrizi, Golnaz Fathi and Sedaghat Jabbari. The success of these Iranian artists has opened a path for Iranian art to enter Europe, and now Christie’s plans to auction three valuable Kerman carpets. Kerman, however, already has a notable history at auctions.
It was three years ago that another Kerman carpet was auctioned and sold at Sotheby’s in New York at the price of $33.8m. This carpet, which is 360 years old, was sold for three times as much as the second-most expensive carpet in the world.
Kerman – Iran’s Carpet Heaven
Somayeh Fathollahtabar Malekshah, a carpet researcher and university lecturer, says, “Kerman carpets are some of the most original Iranian carpets. The history of carpet-making in that region goes back to the Safavid Dynasty. Kerman carpets first owe their fame to their unique designs, and secondly to their successful harmony of colours and patterns. Kerman’s climate and its desert environment led their artists to make up for the lack of plants and greenery by imagining them, and bringing them to life in their designs.
The variation of colours used in Kerman carpets is another reason for their global fame. Even though these colours are made from herbal sources which won’t fade, they still have a strong colour composition. All of these characteristics have made Kerman carpets some of the most famous in the world.
