Dia al-Azzawi (Iraqi, b. 1939)
Three Figures
Inscribed in Arabic ".../...1979-..." on the reverse.
Oil on canvas, 43 x 38 in. (109.2 x 96.5 cm), framed.
Condition: Drying cracks and craquelure with tenting, surface grime, possible mold to the reverse.
Provenance: Collection of Muhsin Sayyid Mahdi and Sarah Roche-Mahdi, Cambridge.
N.B. Muhsin Sayyid Mahdi (1926-2007), the James Richard Jewett Professor Emeritus of Arabic at Harvard University, was a renowned scholar of medieval Arabic and Islamic philosophy. He held visiting professorships at universities throughout the world, offering him and his wife, Sarah Roche-Mahdi, a scholar of medieval and Romantic European literature and thought, the opportunity to build a thoughtful and personally significant collection of art focused on works created in the region of his homeland, Iraq. In later years, the couple spent a great deal of time in Paris, where Mahdi lectured at the Institut du Monde Arabe, participated in seminars, and was a familiar and beloved figure in the cafes and bookshops frequented by intellectuals from all over the Muslim world, many of them former students.
Estimate $20,000-40,000
The canvas is slightly slack on its stretcher. Areas of white pigment near the upper left and upper right edges do not seem to be losses.
Framed dimensions: 47 1/2 x 42 1/4 in.
Items may have wear and tear, imperfections, or the effects of aging. Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.
Condition
Condition: Framed dimensions: 47 1/2 x 42 1/4 in.
Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging.