Dispute over bronze sculpture is settled
A dispute between Sotheby’s and one of its Middle Eastern clients, Sultan Sooud Al-qassemi, has come to an end, The
Daily Telegraph can reveal. Two years ago, Alqassemi, a collector of modern Middle Eastern art, paid a record £725,000 for
Au Bord du Nil, a bronze sculpture by Egyptian artist Mahmoud Mokhtar, believing it to have been cast during the artist’s lifetime. Subsequent research raised doubts as to the date of casting, making it a potentially less valuable posthumous cast. When he asked to return the sculpture, and for a refund, Sotheby’s refused, at which point he took them to court.
Al-qassemi’s lawyers demanded that the court know who was selling the sculpture. When it emerged that the consignor was the mother of a Sotheby’s consultant for the sale, concerns were raised over a possible conflict of interest.
Finally, last week, Al-qassemi’s lawyers announced: “The claim has now been amicably settled between the parties, on confidential terms, and without any admission of liability or wrongdoing on either side.” What is happening to the sculpture has not been divulged.
The sound of the Sex Pistols and the Clash has been echoing through the streets of Knightsbridge, as Bonhams tunes up for its latest Entertainment Memorabilia sale tomorrow. Included is one of the largest collections of punk memorabilia that Stephen Maycock, Bonhams consultant, says he has ever handled – some 60 lots of T-shirts, artwork, posters, magazines and fliers produced between 1976 and 1978 and owned by Mark Jay, a designer who produced punk fanzine Skum.
Prices are creeping up. Original T-shirts can make significant amounts. “They are quite rare because they were not factory produced,” Maycock says. “Five pounds for a T-shirt then was a lot.” At the sale, they are estimated from £500 to £3,000. One, worn by Sid Vicious and signed by Johnny Rotten, could make as much as £7,000. Jay’s artworks, meanwhile, are estimated at more than £3,000 each, while other original record and concert posters from his collection are estimated between £800 and £1,200 each.