Bonhams Auction: History unfolding

Text: Marjorie Husain
Photographs courtesy: Marjorie Husain

The Auction House known as Bonhams of New Bond Street, London, has in recent times attracted considerable interest from significant art collectors of Pakistani and Indian origin. Many of these collectors based in London are currently engaged in acquiring modern and contemporary artworks of leading artists of the Middle East and South Asia. The largest and oldest auctioneers of fine art and antiques in their field, Bonhams was established in 1793 and has through the years expanded into a network that deals with numerous precious objects.

 

Heading the Pakistani art branch of the business, London based Mehreen Rizvi is an extremely busy young woman with a supportive team, all of whom are extremely interested in the work that reaches them from all corners of the world. For research students of Pakistan’s art history, these events have proved extremely exciting, introducing hitherto unseen art by icons such as Ustad Allah Bux and A.R.Chughtai, as well as Sadequain’s work from his early years and the Paris period. Connoisseurs are also keen to collect contemporary masters such as Jamil Naqsh, Ahmed Parvez, Bashir Mirza, Anna Molka Ahmed and Ahmed Khan.