Overall Statistics 

In the first half of 1403 SH, approximately 500 artworks by Iranian artists entered auctions, with a sales rate of nearly 55%. According to data recorded on the Artchart platform, the total sales value of Iranian art in this period reached $6.4 million. This reflects an approximate 23% decrease compared to the same period in 1402 SH.

Total Sales Value of Iranian Artworks in Auction Houses

During the first half of 1403 SH, Tehran Auction led in sales for Iranian art, generating $3.2 million. Christie’s and Sotheby’s followed with sales of $1.3 million and $1.2 million, respectively, making them the next highest-grossing auction houses for Iranian art. Tehran Auction’s dollar sales showed a 26% decrease compared to the same period last year. Christie’s saw an increase in sales of Iranian art, whereas Sotheby’s experienced a decline over the same timeframe.

Performance of Iranian Art Sales Across Global Cities

In the first half of 1403 SH, Tehran, London, Dubai, Paris, and New York were the most successful cities for the sale of Iranian artworks. Tehran has consistently led in this area, although the comparison of sales values in the first half of 1403 to 1402 shows a decline of about 26%. Sales in London also fell, reaching half of the previous year's figure. Dubai recorded a 27% growth, while New York maintained sales similar to the same period last year. Notably, Paris performed better this year, overtaking New York to secure the fourth spot in Iranian art sales for the first half of the year.

Sales Breakdown by Medium

Of the $6.4 million from Iranian art sales in the first half of 1403 SH, $5.3 million—or 83%—came from paintings and calligraphic paintings. Sculptural works generated roughly $700,000 from nearly 27 pieces sold during this period.

Top 5 Highest-Selling Artworks

The five highest-selling artworks in the first half of 1403 SH were created by Bahman Mohasses (two pieces), Aydin Aghdashloo, Monir Farmanfarmaian, and Farhad Moshiri. Aghdashloo and Moshiri’s pieces were sold at the 20th Tehran Auction, while the remaining three were sold at Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern art auctions in cities such as London and Dubai.

Performance of Iranian Artists

From over 225 Iranian artists represented in auctions in the first half of 1403 SH, around 170 had artworks that sold. Of these, only 12% achieved total sales over $100,000, while 83% of the artists had total sales below $50,000.

Top 5 Highest-Grossing Artists  

With total sales reaching $644,000, Bahman Mohasses emerged as the highest-grossing Iranian artist in the first half of 1403 SH. Following him were Hossein Zenderoudi, Manoucher Yektai, Reza Derakshani, and Aydin Aghdashloo, in that order, as the other top-grossing artists in this period.