Overview
- The 95-lot single-owner auction from Prince Sadruddin and Princess Catherine Aga Khan’s collection totaled £45,760,485, roughly six times the presale guide and the highest-value South Asian art sale to date.
- Basawan’s circa 1575–80 A Family of Cheetahs in a Rocky Landscape realized £10,245,000 with fees, setting a world auction record for a classical Indian or Islamic painting.
- Demand centered on Indian court painting, with eight works from the Fraser Album bringing £6.2 million and Dust Muhammad’s 16th-century portrait of Shah Abu’l‑Ma’ali selling for £2.7 million.
- Works by Iranian masters such as Reza Abbasi achieved comparatively modest prices, highlighting a segmented market between Indian court painting and other Islamic art.
- Christie’s said bidders registered from 20 countries, with specialists citing new Indian collectors moving from contemporary art into classical categories as a key driver.