TEHRAN- The 21st edition of the Tehran Auction, a prestigious event dedicated to contemporary art in Iran, concluded with an impressive total sales figure of 1.2 trillion rials ($2 million). 

The online event, which was held on Friday, saw 132 out of the 140 artworks up for bidding successfully sold, ISNA reported. 

The artworks featured in this online auction achieved impressive sales, nearly doubling the total from a comparable online auction held last year, the report added. 

The event successfully sold 132 of the 140 pieces available, with 51 artworks exceeding their highest estimated bids, while 81 pieces sold within the range of estimated minimums and maximums.

The auction displayed 140 pieces over three days, including 115 paintings, 17 sculptures, and eight photographs, allowing art buyers to make their purchases during the specified online window.

Top sales figures included an untitled piece by Monir Farmanfarmaian that incorporates mirror work, reverse painting on glass, and plaster on wood from the 1970s, reaching a staggering 116 billion rials ($194,000), followed by Aydin Aghdashloo with his work titled "Summer, Winter” from the “Occidentals" series, at 112 billion rials ($187,000). 

The third highest was Reza Derakhshani’s painting, “Counting Days and Nights, Every Day and Every Night," which sold for 101 billion rials ($168,000).

Other notable sales included works by Parviz Tanavoli and Farideh Lashai, which sold for 70 billion rials ($116,000) and 51 billion rials ($85,000), respectively.

In this edition of the auction, eight artworks from Farideh Lashai, Hossein Mohajoubi, Javad Nobahar, Sadeq Tirafkan, Mostafa Dashti, Reza Bakhshi, Ahmad Rafi, and Anahita Qasemkhani went unsold.

Additionally, artworks from 36 artists made their debut in the Iranian art market, including Mehrdad Fallah, Kasra Golrang, Ladan Boroujerdi, Raika Milanian, Reza Nosrati, Paria Farrokhi, Hossein Khoshraftar, Morteza Yazdani, Shiva Babai, and Ali Beigiparast.

Other newcomers included Keyvan Beiranvand, Nasim Hosnbakhshan, Alireza Jedi, Sudeh Davood, Mohammad Mehdi Tabatabai, Mohammad Mastan Dahi, Anahita Qasemkhani, Hossein Markazi, Mani Mehrzad, Masoud Aslani, Mina Ghaziani, Sassan Nasiri, Avin Farahadi, Sanaz Dezfoulian, Sara Abasian, Omid Khakbaz, and Yadgar Khayyam.

The previous Tehran Auction, held in July, focused on modern and contemporary art, achieving a remarkable sales figure of over $3 million.

At the auction, which included 115 works by modern and contemporary Iranian artists, 107 pieces, over 93 percent of the offered lots, were sold at over 1,900 billion rials ($3.175 million).

The event presented 99 paintings and calligraphic paintings, 12 sculptures, and four photos.

A total of 65 buyers participated in the auction, 15 of whom did so for the first time. Of the 115 sold lots, 41 items were sold at prices higher than 10 billion rials ($16,667).

The highest-grossing piece at the auction was a painting titled “End of an Era” from the “Memories of Destruction” series by Aydin Aghdashloo which was sold for $205,333.

The second most expensive work was a piece of mixed media on canvas by Farhad Moshiri titled “Black Numbers on White”, realizing $187,000.

An untitled calligraphic painting by Mohammad Ehsai was also among the top three works of the auction, sold for $183,333.

The first of its kind in Iran, the Tehran Auction was launched in 2012 as an independent and private initiative to introduce the best in Iranian art, ranging from established and emerging Iranian artists to art collectors and the global audience.

It aims to address the increasing interest in modern and contemporary Iranian art and facilitate the acquisition of quality works in reliable ways.

Photo: An untitled mirror work by Monir Farmanfarmaian(left), "Summer, Winter” by Aydin Aghdashloo (right up), “Counting Days and Nights, Every Day and Every Night” by Reza Derakhshani(right down)

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