Christie’s, the world's leading art business, will feature Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art in its upcoming sale in Dubai next month.

The spring sale will take place on April 17 and 18 and will include works by Louay Kayyali, Paul Guiragossian and Nasrollah Afjehei.

The sale will be held at the Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai with pre-sale viewing from the Sunday prior to the sale.

Michael Jeha, managing director of Christie’s Middle East and specialist in charge of the sale, said: “It is always very encouraging to have a strong selection of works already consigned so far in advance of the sale and we look forward to adding other important works over the coming months prior to the April sale.”

The highlight of the sale is a beautiful calligraphic work by the highly respected and internationally known Iranian artist Nasrollah Afjehei (b.1933).

Entitled Wave, the large-scale canvas (measuring 2 sq m) depicts the movement and energy of the crashing wave through the tightly-written words which expand and contract in parallel ‘strands’ gently curving to simulate the curve of the wave. It was painted in 2010 and is estimated at $80,000-120,000.

From the Syrian modern master Louay Kayyali (1934-1978) is a figure of an Old Man painted with oil on masonite, a type of hardboard. The texture of the wood chips clearly visible beneath the surface of the paint, the composition shows an old man slumped in the corner with his head in his hands, (estimate: $50,000-70,000).

Paul Guiragossian’s (Lebanon, 1926-1993) L’Adieu is an early work from 1962, showing two figures embracing, the muted pastel colours of the oil scratched with lines which give depth to the seated group.

It is a much smaller work than the majority of pieces by the artist and unique as it shows such an intimate moment between the loving couple from an artist best known for his large scale works of groups of people with a more common focus on the relationship between mother and child. It is estimated at $20,000-30,000. – TradeArabia News Service