LONDON, 11 April 2008 — A 12th-century key to the Kaaba sold for 9.2 million pounds ($18.1 million) late on Wednesday, setting a new record for an Islamic work of art at auction.
The Abbasid period key, made of iron and measuring 37cm long, sold at Sotheby’s in London for more than 18 times its pre-sale estimate and was bought anonymously. It is the only known example to remain in private hands.
The key was the highlight of the auctioneer’s Islamic sale, which realized 21.5 million pounds, in excess of the pre-sale high estimate of 13.1 million pounds.
“Remarkably, the sale realized more than the Islamic department’s annual total in 2007, demonstrating beyond doubt the burgeoning and international demand for Islamic art,” said Edward Gibbs, head of Sotheby’s Islamic art department.
Sotheby’s called the Kaaba key “arguably one of the most important symbols of Islam.” According to the auctioneer, the tradition of dedicating the key to each caliph appears to have originated with the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad. “As a physical object, the key demonstrates the authority of the caliph and is the ultimate emblem of power,” Sotheby’s said.
The previous record for a work of Islamic art sold at auction is believed to be a bronze fountainhead in the form of a hind dating from mid-10th century Spain. It sold at Christie’s in 1997 for 3.6 million pounds.
In addition to the example sold at Sotheby’s this week, there are 58 recorded Kaaba keys, all of which are held in museums. Most, 54, are in the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul, two are in the Nuhad Es-Said Collection, one is in the Louvre in Paris and one is in the Islamic Art Museum in Cairo.
Rare Dagger Beats Estimates
At a separate London auction held at Bonhams yesterday, a rare dagger that once belonged to 17th-century Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan sold for 1.7 million pounds, four times the estimate.
The work, inscribed with the emperor’s name, title and date and place of its manufacture, is one of two daggers known to have been personally owned by the man who built the Taj Mahal. It was sold at Bonhams’ Indian and Islamic sale.
On Tuesday, Christie’s held its own London Islamic sale which fetched 11.8 million pounds, including a leaf from a mid-seventh century copy of the Holy Qur’an that sold for 2.5 million pounds versus a pre-sale estimate of 100,000 to 150,000 pounds.