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Sothebys: Arts of the Islamic World & India

Auction Reports


Auction Name	Arts of the Islamic World & India	Total Sales (GBP)	5,682,615.00
Auction Date	October 29, 2025 - October 29, 2025	Low Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP)	2,050,000.00
Sale Number	#L25223	High Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP)	3,186,000.00
Total Lots	58
Sold Lots	45.0	Low Estimate of All Lots (GBP)	2,290,000.00
% of Lots Sold	77.59%	High Estimate of All Lots (GBP)	3,551,000.00
Unsold Lots	13	Total Sales as a % of High Est.	160.03%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number	Book Title	Year Published	Estimate	Actual Price
220	Maharaja Ranjit Singh in procession, riding on an elephant through a bazaar, by Bishan Singh,	circa 1860-70	GBP 200,000.00 - 300,000.00	GBP 952,500.00
101	An exceptionally rare and important Qur'an manuscript with eight tafasir with the combined title al-Itqan fi 'Ilm al-Qur'an ('Perfection in Qur'anic Science') from the library of Akbar (r. 1556-1605),	late 16th century	GBP 40,000.00 - 60,000.00	GBP 863,600.00
232	Costumes of India: an album of occupations,	late 18th century	GBP 50,000.00 - 80,000.00	GBP 609,600.00
105	An extremely rare illustrated manuscript of the Ka'banameh (A history of the Ka'ba) by Abdulrahman Gubari (d.1566), signed by Ahmad [...] al-Khatib, Kaposvar,		GBP 120,000.00 - 180,000.00	GBP 444,500.00
149	A large illuminated Qur'an, copied by Ahmad al-Nayrizi, commissioned for Muhammad Ibrahim Bega Yuzbashi,	1122 AH/1710-11 AD	GBP 300,000.00 - 500,000.00	GBP 355,600.00
118	Ibn al-Shatir (d.1375), Nihayat al-su'al fi tashih al-usul, on astronomy,	14th century	GBP 150,000.00 - 250,000.00	GBP 254,000.00
128	A line from the 'Baysunghur Qur'an', attributed to 'Umar al-Aqta,	circa 1400	GBP 100,000.00 - 150,000.00	GBP 241,300.00
113	An early Kufic Qur'an leaf,	circa 700-750 AD	GBP 120,000.00 - 200,000.00	GBP 177,800.00
140	A large illuminated Qur'an,	16th century	GBP 120,000.00 - 180,000.00	GBP 152,400.00
200	A royal Mughal hunting scene, possibly portraying Jahandar Shah (r.1712-13),	first half 18th century	GBP 60,000.00 - 80,000.00	GBP 152,400.00
192	Elephants frolicking in a mountain lake,	circa 1630-40	GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00	GBP 139,700.00
114	A Qur'an bifolium in Kufic script on vellum from the Mushaf Al-Hadinah, The 'Nurse's Qur'an', copied by 'Ali Al-Warraq,		GBP 100,000.00 - 150,000.00	GBP 127,000.00
193	Jahangir as the Queller of Shah Jahan's Rebellion,	17th century	GBP 100,000.00 - 150,000.00	GBP 127,000.00
146	A large illuminated Qur'an,	late 17th/early 18th century	GBP 30,000.00 - 50,000.00	GBP 82,550.00
102	A large painting depicting Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, signed by Mehmed Sadiq,	19th century	GBP 12,000.00 - 18,000.00	GBP 60,960.00
144	Abu'l Qasim Firdausi (d.1025 AD), Shahnameh,	16th century	GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00	GBP 60,960.00
218	Shri Dhola-Maru' with over eighty illustrations,	dated VS 1805/1749 AD	GBP 30,000.00 - 50,000.00	GBP 60,960.00
209	Maharana Jawan Singh (r.1828-38) bathing with his noblemen at Jag Niwas, attributable to Ghasi,	circa 1830-35	GBP 30,000.00 - 50,000.00	GBP 53,340.00
121	Abu Mansur Mawhub ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Khadr al-Jawaliqi (d.1144 AD), Kitab takmilat islah ma taghlat fihi al-'amma, on Arabic grammar,	circa 1300 AD	GBP 40,000.00 - 60,000.00	GBP 50,800.00
143	An album of original watercolours: Charles T. Yerkes, Collection of 16th Century Rugs,	1900-05	GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00	GBP 50,800.00
150	An illuminated Qur'an in 60 volumes, copied by Malik Muhammad al-Khwansari,	1279 AH/ 1862 - 1863 AD	GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00	GBP 50,800.00
199	A folio from the 'Small Clive Album': A holy man teaching a prince at night,	circa 1760	GBP 30,000.00 - 40,000.00	GBP 48,260.00
109	Ibn Battuta (d.1377), Tuhfat an-Nuzzar fi ghara'ib al-amsar wa 'aja'ib asfar, a volume from The Travels,	17th century	GBP 30,000.00 - 50,000.00	GBP 40,640.00
191	A heroic battle scene,	late 16th or early 17th century	GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00	GBP 40,640.00
108	A manuscript on fortune-telling including Ikhtiyarat al-ayyam (A treatise on hemerology, from the sayings of Ja'far al-Sadiq and the Prophet Daniel), commissioned for Catholic Maronite Khawaja Yusuf ibn Khawaja Antoine Andrea, copied by Gabriel son of Mic	1778 AD	GBP 30,000.00 - 50,000.00	GBP 38,100.00

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.

Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s
Book Week
December 9-17, 2025

Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.

Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.

Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.

Sotheby’s
Book Week
December 9-17, 2025

Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.

Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.

Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
Heritage Auctions
Rare Books Signature Auction
December 15, 2025

Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.

Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.

Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.

Heritage, Dec. 15: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.

Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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