Two works by Iranian artists were sold at Bonhams London's online auction of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art on August 14, 2025. The auction featured 45 pieces from Middle Eastern artists, including 10 by Iranian artists such as Sirak Melkonian, Ebrahim Olfat, Babak Kazemi, Marcos Grigorian, and YZ Kami. Only two works found buyers: an untitled 2020 oil on canvas by the late Sirak Melkonian (1930-2024) sold for $13,888, and Ebrahim Olfat's calligraphy painting "Eshgh (Hafez Poem)" (2012) sold for $5,207. The article provides extensive background on Melkonian, an Iranian-Armenian modernist pioneer and co-founder of the Azad Art Group, and on Olfat, a calligraphy specialist with a medical degree.
The sale matters because it reflects the growing global recognition and market for modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art, a category that has seen significant development over the past decade. The modest results—only two of ten Iranian lots sold—highlight the selective demand even as regional and international collector interest expands. Melkonian's posthumous sale also underscores the enduring legacy of a key figure in Iranian modernism, while Olfat's continued auction presence at houses like Bonhams, Sotheby's, and Christie's signals sustained market activity for contemporary calligraphic works.