TEHRAN – Sotheby's, a British-founded American multinational corporation headquartered in New York City, has announced highlights of arts from the Islamic world, which will go under hammer in its upcoming auction.

The objects include masterpieces of calligraphy, painting, ceramics, metalwork, jewelry and furniture, spanning several continents and centuries – with the earliest pieces stretching back to the seventh century, Benedict Carter, Sotheby’s Islamic art specialist and head of sale has said, Art Daily reported on Wednesday.

“Viewed together, it [the selection of objects] is an undeniable testament to the sophisticated, inventive and diverse output of the Islamic world. Alongside our biannual sale, we are also thrilled to be presenting a stand-alone single-owner auction of just under a hundred manuscripts put together by a distinguished collector with an expert eye and eclectic taste.”

Amongst the highlights are a large holy Qur’an leaf in gold Kufic script on blue vellum, Near East, North Africa or Southern Spain, 9th-10th century AD (est. £400,000-600,000); an elegant Safavid brass celestial globe and frame, 17th-century Persia (est. £80,000-120,000); a diamond, ruby and emerald-set gold Manga Malai necklace, India, 19th century (est. £40,000-60,000); and a gem-set gold and enameled sarpech, India, Benares, circa 1850 (est. £60,000-80,000).

Sotheby’s has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby’s became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby’s presents auctions in ten different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby’s Bid Now program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world.

The live auction begins on October 23; 04:30 PM +0330.

AFM/MG