Auction house Christie’s will showcase Orientalist art at its London sale on 29 April.
Approximately 30 works will go under the hammer, with top billing going to Gustav Bauernfeind’s (1848–1904) Forecourt of the Ummayad Mosque, Damascus,1890 (above).
With an estimated price in the region of £3m, the painting is arguably the German artist’s finest work in private ownership and is expected to be the subject of keen interest from potential buyers.
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Other highlights include French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme’s (1824–1904), Prayer in the Desert. Depicting a warrior taking time out from a caravan to perform his religious duties, this is estimated at around £800,000.
Also likely to be popular is Rudolph Ernst’s Two Warriors in the Alhambra Palace, the Court of Lions in the Background (estimated at £400,000-600,000).
All three of these major works will tour to Dubai this month, where they will be on public view from 19 to 23 March, ahead of the pre-sale London exhibition opening on 26 April.