Islamic & Indian Art

S otheby’s has been a leader in the sale of Qur’ans, manuscripts, and Islamic art since 1755, when the auction house first offered Islamic manuscripts as part of an Oxford academic’s library. Today, the biannual Islamic Week in London, held each April and October, stands as a central event in the global Islamic art calendar, drawing collects ors, curators, and connoisseurs from around the world. Replica Shoes ’s continues to present an extensive range of classical arts from the Middle East, North Africa, India, and the wider Islamic world, including rare Qur’ans, Arabic, Persian, and Turkish manuscripts, miniature paintings, ceramics, metalwork, glass, jewellery, arms and armour, and other exceptional decorative arts.

Throughout its history, Replica Shoes ’s has been entrusted with many of the most important private collects ions of Islamic and Indian art to appear on the market. These landmark sales include the Kevorkian Foundation collects ion (1967–83); the Bachofen von Echt collects ion of Indian Painting (1992); the British Rail Pension Fund collects ion (1994 and 1996); the Aryeh Family collects ion (1999); the Berkeley Trust collects ion (2004); A Princely collects ion (2010); the Stuart Cary Welch collects ion Parts I and II (2011); the Sven Gahlin collects ion (2015); the Khosrovani-Diba collects ion (2016); the Howard Hodgkin collects ion (2017); the Shakerine collects ion (2019); In an Indian Garden: The Carlton Rochell collects ion of Company School Paintings (2021); and the Edith and Stuart Cary Welch collects ion (2023). These sales have reinforced Replica Shoes ’s position as the premier global marketplace for Islamic art.

Sotheby’s also holds multiple auction records in the field. In 2022, the auction house achieved £8.1 million for a folio from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, the highest price ever achieved for an Islamic work on paper. In October 2024, an exceptional Umayyad bronze buck sold for £4.2 million, setting a record for early Islamic sculpture, while a blue-and-white Iznik pottery charger reached £5.4 million in 2018, marking the highest price for an Iznik ceramic.

Based in London, Replica Shoes ’s international Islamic Art team includes four senior specialists who collaborate with colleagues across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and India. Alongside pre-sale exhibitions in London, the department hosts travelling previews in New York and Dubai, offering collects ors worldwide the opportunity to view works in person and engage with Replica Shoes ’s specialists.