Two masterpieces by Mahmoud Saïd (1897-1964), known as the father of modern Egyptian painting, will lead the Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art sales at Christie’s in Dubai in October.

Both works have been consigned for sale from a prestigious private Egyptian collection in Egypt, closely related to the artist’s family.

They have never appeared at auction before – El Zar has never been exhibited to the public whilst Pecheurs a Rosette was last on public display in the Alexandria retrospective of 1964, the year of the artist’s death.

The sale will be held on October 23 and 24 at the Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai with pre-sale viewing from the Sunday prior to the sale.

Pêcheurs à Rosette is one of the artist’s most comprehensive works, showing a richly detailed Egyptian scene beside the Nile with fishermen unloading their catch, a perfect expression of national Egyptian identity. Painted in 1941, it is estimated at $400,000-600,000.

El Zar is a rediscovered preparatory oil painting for a larger well-known composition from the collections of the Museum of Modern Art of Cairo, depicting a dancing group and musicians, performing a religious ritual. Loaded with spirituality and mystery, the work is valued at $150,000-200,000.

Michael Jeha, managing director of Christie’s Middle East and specialist in charge of the sale, said: “Pêcheurs à Rosette is one of very few Saïd’s masterpieces left in private hands and we are honoured to have been entrusted with it along with El Zar as the highlights of our October sale.”

“Their sale follows the Christie’s auction in Dubai in 2010 of Saïd’s The Whirling Dervishes (1929) which sold for a world record breaking $2.4 million. Pêcheurs à Rosette is the largest work ever to have appeared at auction by Saïd, and is equal in quality to The Whirling Dervishes.”

TradeArabia