Osman Hamdi Bey's painting sold for 1 million pounds in London

A painting titled "Preparing Coffee" by Osman Hamdi Bey, one of the pioneers of Turkish painting, has been sold for 1 million pounds (approximately 51 million Turkish lira).

The rare 1881 painting, which had been missing for a long time, became the most expensive work sold at the "Orientalist Art" auction held at the Sotheby's auction house in London, the capital of England.

The painting, which stood out as the lot with the highest value in the auction where a total of 50 works of art were sold quickly, was purchased by an anonymous buyer who placed a bid over the phone.

- The painting received intense interest from collectors

The work, which received intense interest from collectors and institutions, was held in a private collection in Austria until recently.

The painting, first purchased in 1910 by Prince Sadiq Yadigarov, a Georgian art collector, passed to Yadigarov's son Archil, and in the 1930s to a private collector in Vienna who was related to Archil through marriage, remaining in their possession through inheritance until 2008.

Seen as a masterclass work that bears the signature of Osman Hamdi Bey's aesthetic, refinement, and cultural respect, the piece depicts a ritual of two young women preparing coffee in a rich, tiled, columned interior, which is likely an imaginary harem in Istanbul's Topkapı Palace.

The work, which features the Basmala written in Kufic script at the top, also includes a portion of the 88th verse of the Hud Surah of the Quran, which translates to "My success is only by Allah." This phrase, which also appears in other works by the famous artist, adds spiritual and intellectual depth to the piece.

News Source: AA