Arts of the Islamic World & India: A Tribute to the Legacy of Caliphs and Sultans

The mediaeval period marked the zenith of Islamic dynastic authority, an era that spanned several centuries and stretched across vast swathes of Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Its spiritual tenets, cultural practices, political philosophy, and gastronomy became deeply woven into the social fabric of countless nations, their enduring influence palpable to this day. Yet nowhere is the sheer magnificence of this civilisation more vividly expressed than in the extraordinary oeuvre of art it produced.

With spring in full view, Sotheby's is pleased to welcome collectors, scholars, and devoted admirers of the Islamic world and its artistic traditions to explore a collection of rare distinction. Nearly 160 lots drawn from across the courts and kingdoms of the Islamic world are set to go under the hammer at a live auction on 29th April.

The Auction

This collection is of rare provenance and scale, ranging from early Qur'an leaves and Ottoman swords to imperial Mughal artefacts and paintings by the celebrated Rajasthani masters Bagta and Chokha. The works will be on public view at Sotheby's London from Friday 25th April to Tuesday 28th April, ahead of the live sale on Wednesday 29th April at 11 AM. Bidding is open online before and during the sale.

Landmark Lots

i. A Monumental Brass Astrolabe from the Reign of Emperor Jahangir

India, Rabi' al-Awwal 1021 AH / May 1612 AD | Estimate: £1,500,000 – 2,500,000

At the head of the sale stands a work of rare scientific and artistic distinction. Commissioned by Aqa Afzal, a high-ranking courtier of Emperor Jahangir, this monumental cast brass astrolabe is one of only two known instruments produced in collaboration by the master makers Qa'im Muhammad and Muhammad Muqim.

Its surfaces reward close study: The instrument is surmounted by a high-lobed kursi (the throne-like projection at its crown), engraved in elegant Nasta'liq script with the date of manufacture and the patron's name on the front and the makers' names on the reverse. The interior of the mater, the astrolabe's main body, carries a geographical index, while its reverse is engraved with a solar quadrant and shadow squares for calculation. The rotating rete bears arabesque star pointers for 38 stars, each inscribed with both its Persian name and Sanskrit equivalent in Devanagari, and five plates chart localities spanning Mecca, Bijapur, Ajmer, Kashmir, and Lahore.

ii. Iznik Ceramics from the Esteemed Collections of Sir Alan Barlow (1881-1968) and Ralph Brocklebank (1840-1921)

Anatolia, late 15th to late 17th century | Estimates: £2,000 – 60,000

Produced in Anatolia between the late 15th and late 17th centuries, Iznik ceramics represent one of the Ottoman world's most celebrated art forms: quartz-based wares distinguished by vivid hues and intricate floral vocabularies of tulips and carnations, originally inspired by Chinese porcelain and refined into something entirely their own.

The lots offered here are drawn from the private collections of two of Britain's most devoted collectors of Islamic ceramics. Sir James Alan Noel Barlow (1881–1968) was a senior British civil servant and long-serving president of the Oriental Ceramic Society, who assembled one of the largest private collections of Islamic pottery in the United Kingdom. Ralph Brocklebank (1840–1921) was a Cheshire shipping magnate and an early pioneer of the UK market for Iznik wares, whose near-encyclopaedic collection was proudly displayed at Haughton Hall.

The nine Barlow pieces are primarily dishes bearing vegetal and floral motifs in cobalt blue, green, and bole-red on white, ranging from archetypal Iznik compositions to a striking dish with a rare marbled green centre. The Brocklebank group comprises dishes and jugs bearing quintessential Iznik patterns, including one memorably depicting a sailing ship, which have remained in family hands for over a century.

iii. Swords & Medals: Property from a Prince of the Egyptian Royal Family and an Ottoman Sultanzade

Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, 18th to 19th century | Estimates: £20,000 – 60,000

This princely grouping of ten lots brings together ceremonial swords, military sabres, and imperial honours from the courts of the Khedivate of Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, spanning the 18th and 19th centuries. At its heart is a set of arms and decorations intimately associated with three successive rulers of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty: Isma'il Pasha (1830-1895), also known as 'Ismail the Magnificent'; his son Muhammad Tawfiq Pasha (1852–1892), Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1879 until his death; and his son Abbas Hilmi II (1874-1944), the last Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, whose reign ended when Britain declared Egypt a Sultanate under its protection in 1914.

The swords range from a diamond-encrusted ceremonial sabre belonging to Muhammad Tawfiq, emblematic of Khedival court splendour, to a walrus ivory-hilted blade bearing gold damascene inscriptions attesting to earlier ownership by Suleyman the Magnificent. A rare Omani kattara adds further intrigue, its scabbard recording its capture from the Beni Sinan tribe in 1874. The medals are no less compelling: five Ottoman orders and decorations awarded to Abbas Hilmi II, including gold and diamond-set honours, offer a material record of a ruler navigating Ottoman allegiance and British authority in equal measure – a political tightrope that would define, and ultimately end, his reign.

iv. An Impressive Illuminated Qur'an Volume, Attributable to Ya'qut al-Musta'simi

Probably Baghdad, Iraq, late 13th century | Estimate: £100,000 – 150,000

Ya'qut al-Musta'simi was the secretary of the last Abbasid caliph and the most celebrated calligrapher of the mediaeval Islamic world. His style is so singular and his workmanship so revered that manuscripts attributed to his hand occupy an exclusive place in the canon of Islamic art. This illuminated Qur'an volume, comprising Juz' XIV and XV, is believed to be among them.

The attribution rests on close comparison with two related manuscripts held in the Khalili Collection and the Chester Beatty Library, one of which bears Ya'qut's name directly, with script, letterforms, and decorative details corresponding closely enough across all three volumes to suggest a shared origin.

The manuscript is truly breathtaking. The illumination is thought to be entirely original and unspoiled, preserving the rich palette of gold, burnt orange, and blue typical of Baghdad at this period, with ornate chapter headings, gilded verse markers, and an elaborately decorated opening page. This is rarer than it may seem, as in both of the related volumes, the original illumination has been lost or obscured by later additions. Should the attribution hold, this manuscript would be an exceptional survival, standing as one of the only works associated with Ya'qut in which his calligraphy and its contemporaneous decoration can still be seen together, exactly as they were first conceived.

Final Thoughts

This vast collection tells a story that no single object could tell alone, unfolding over dynasties that shaped the world, of collectors who recognised that significance, and of the craftsmanship that has outlasted them all. It is indeed a watershed occasion, as the art world pauses to reckon with centuries of history at once. It is the perfect reflection of the Sotheby's ethos: that the legacies of great civilisations are not relics to be shelved but living histories worth guarding, upholding and passing on.