July 11, 2014
Iran is negotiating with the Christie’s fine arts auction house to have it set up a business office on Kish Island handling Iranian artworks, Culture Minister Ali Jannati said. But Christie’s said it has not been contacted by Iran.
Jannati told reporters that the negotiations are focused on providing Iranian artists with a better opportunity for selling their artworks.
If such auctions are organized in Iran, artists from other countries will also be able bring their work, and that is considered a privilege for Iran, Jannati said.
But in London, a Christie’s spokesperson, Alexandra Kindermann, said, “Christie’s are happy to hold bi-annual sales in Dubai where we happily offer Iranian art. But we have no plans to open salesrooms in Iran. We have not been approached by Iran.”
Jannati said Iranian artists are used to selling their work in Europe and Christie’s organizes auctions for Iranian artists due to their prominence.
He did not mention that Iranian artworks usually play a major role in auctions that Christies holds in Dubai twice a year. Jannati did not indicate if his goal was to overshadow the prominence of the Dubai auctions in the international art world.
