Orientalist Masterpiece By Osman Hamdi Bey Achieves More Than £3million At Bonhams

London – Cami Kapisinda (At the Mosque Door), a major work by Osman Hamdi Bey (1842-1910) was the top lot at Bonhams’ 19^th Century Paintings and British Impressionist Art sale on 25 March at Bonhams New Bond Street, London, achieving £3,678,400. Having been acquired directly from the artist in 1895, the work came to auction for the first time had an estimate of £2,000,000 – 3,000,000.

The 72-lot sale made a total of £6,326,238.

Charles O’Brien, Director of 19^th Century Paintings at Bonhams, commented: “At the Mosque Door is one of the finest examples of Osman Hamdi Bey’s skill as a leading figure in Orientalist Art. Magnificent in terms of both scale and detail, this painting came to auction for the first time with outstanding and unbroken provenance, having been acquired directly from the artist four years after its completion. We are delighted it achieved such a fantastic result.”

Osman Hamdi Bey (1842–1910) acquired an informal training in Paris with Gustave Boulanger, and under the influence of the famous Orientalist painter Jean-Léon Gérôme. One of the first Ottoman artists to bridge the artistic worlds of Turkey and France, Hamdi Bey’s works in many respects mirrored the Orientalist subjects that were so successful in Europe at the time. He combined his life as an artist with a career as a public administrator in the Ottoman bureaucracy, an archaeologist and – as Director of the Imperial Museum, and founder of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum – a pioneer of the profession of museum curator in Turkey. He also founded the Istanbul Museum of Fine Arts.

At the Mosque Door was first exhibited at the International Art Exposition of Berlin in 1891. It was ultimately sent to America for the Chicago Fair and the picture was purchased by The University of Pennsylvania in 1895. The hope was that this gesture would ensure that work being carried out by the University Museum’s archaeological expedition to the site of Nippur might continue. The gesture was successful in cementing the relationship between artist and University, and in 1897 Hermann Hilprecht, the Museum’s representative in Constantinople, wrote to the University confirming that Hamdi had given the Museum a collection of important cuneiform tablets.

Other highlights of the sale included:

• William Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905), Fardeau agréable (Pleasant Burden). Sold for £508,400.

• Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret (French, 1852-1929), La Vaccination. Sold for £368,700.

• William Dyce, RA, ARSA (British, 1806-1864), The Good Shepherd. Sold for £267,100.

• Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (1817-1900), Seascape. Sold for £254,400.