TEHRAN (FNA)- Tehran has asked the Christie�s Auction company to start business activity on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf, Iranian Culture Minister Ali Jannati announced on Saturday.


�We have made an offered and asked the Christie�s company to set up a branch on Kish Island after Dubai,� Jannati told FNA on Saturday, but did not mention if Iran has asked the renowned auction company to open a salesroom or an office in Kish.

Asked about the date of Christie�s first auction in Iran, he said, �Christie�s Auction was held this year and we try (to hold it in Iran) in the coming years as well.�

Jannati said world people have shown deep interest in buying Iranian artworks through the Christie�s Auction salesrooms in the Middle-East region, specially in Dubai, in the past few years. �Hence, we came up with the decision to hold a similar auction on Kish and have asked them to establish a branch on the island.�

Various Iranian art pieces have fetched high prices at Dubai Christie�s during its recent seasonal Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art sale.

Parviz Tanavoli�s six-foot-tall sculpture titled �Oh Persepolis II� fetched $940,000 on first night of the auction.

Tanavoli�s �The Wall (Oh Persepolis I)� was also offered in the 2008 Christie�s which hit record high when it was sold for $2.8 million.

Calligraphic-painting by Mohammad Ehsaie was hammered at $400,000, and the painting by Kami Yousefi sold at $100,000.

Some 40 artworks created by 36 Iranian artists were offered at different sections of the auction including part I, Part II and Part III held at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai.

Leading modern and contemporary Middle Eastern and Turkish artists presented their works at this seasonal auction.

Paintings, calligraphy works, sculptures and photos by Hossein Zendehroudi, Parvaneh Etemadi, Farhad Moshiri, Faramarz Pilaram, Abbas Kiarostami, Afshin Pirhashemi were among the works that went under the hammer.

Acclaimed Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri�s seminal piece �The Secret Garden� fetched an above-estimated price at the previous edition of Christie's auction in Dubai that was held in April.

Christie�s auction of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 29 and 30.

Christie�s Part III Middle Eastern Art sale which is only for online bidding kicked off on October 24 and will run until November11, 2013.

By Fars News Agency

 

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