This auction has ended. View lot details

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

Coming soon

6^* — Louay Kayyali (Syria, 1934-1978) The Young Lovers (Al Ashiqan Al Saghiran)

£50,000 - £80,000

7^* — Naim Ismail (Syria, 1930-1979) Hayy ibn Yaqzan (Alive, son of Awake)

£40,000 - £60,000

8^* — Saliba Douaihy (Lebanon, 1915-1994) Mar Gerges Church, Ehden

£20,000 - £30,000

9^* — Jewad Selim (Iraq, 1919-1961) Still life with Statuette

£50,000 - £80,000

10^* — Mamdouh Kashlan (Syria, 1929-2022) Before The Light Fades (Kabl An Yazoul Al Djaw)

£12,000 - £15,000

Property from the Artist's Estate

11 — Mahmoud Sabri (Iraq, 1927-2012) Study of a Rural Family

£15,000 - £25,000

Property from the Artist's Estate

12 — Mahmoud Sabri (Iraq, 1927-2012) Mother and Child

£100,000 - £150,000

Property from the Artist's Estate

13 — Mahmoud Sabri (Iraq, 1927-2012) Public Bath

£40,000 - £60,000

Property from the Artist's Estate

14 — Mahmoud Sabri (Iraq, 1927-2012) H20 + AG + AiR (From the Quantum Realism Series)

£50,000 - £80,000

15^* — Sliman Mansour (Palestine, born 1947) Woman From Bethlehem

£60,000 - £80,000

16^* — Etel Adnan (Lebanon, 1925-2021) Belles Creatures

£60,000 - £80,000

17^* — Saloua Raouda Choucair (Lebanon, 1916-2017) Untitled (from the Repetitive Dual series)

£30,000 - £50,000

18^*,AR — Chaouki Choukini (Lebanon, born 1946) Equation Existentielle

£30,000 - £40,000

19^AR — Dia Al-Azzawi (Iraq, born 1939) Al Shamr

£40,000 - £60,000

Property from the collection of the late George Touma Yacoub

20^AR — Dia Al-Azzawi (Iraq, born 1939) Arabic Image II

£30,000 - £50,000

Property from the collection of the late George Touma Yacoub

21^AR — Dia Al-Azzawi (Iraq, born 1939) Drawings Consecrated to Love

£4,000 - £6,000

Previous Lot

Next Lot

Lot 50^*

Inji Efflatoun
(Egypt, 1924-1984)
Dreams of a Prisoner (Ahlam Almuetaqalih)

Withdrawn

Amended

Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art including Baghdadiyat Part II: Iraqi Masterpieces from the Jawdat, Madhloom and Selim Collections

17 November 2021, 15:00 GMT

London, New Bond Street

£4,000 - £6,000

Ask about this lot

Noor Soussi

Head of Department

Tel: +44 20 7468 8345

Noor.Soussi@bonhams.com

Nima Sagharchi

Group Head

Tel: +44 20 7468 8342

Nima.Sagharchi@bonhams.com

Inji Efflatoun (Egypt, 1924-1984)

Dreams of a Prisoner (Ahlam Almuetaqalih)
ink on paper, framed
executed in 1961
37.5 x 51.3cm (14 3/4 x 20 3/16in).

Footnotes

Provenance:
Property from the collection of Dr Angelo Gioe, cultural attaché at the Italian Cultural Institute, Cairo 2003-2007

"Prison was a very enriching experience for my development as a human being and an artist. When a crisis or tragedy occurs, one is either empowered or destroyed" - Inji Efflatoun

Inji Efflatoun was known as a feminist and a political activist as well as an artist. A lifetime Marxist, Efflatoun became a staunch communist from her school days onwards. In 1942, she joined the Egyptian Communist organization Iskra (al-sharāra) and in 1945 she was one of the founding members of the League of University and Institutes' Young Women.

Her artistic education began when her mother, Salha Efflatoun, hired Kamel El Telmissany as Inji's private tutor. Encouraged by Telmissany, at the young age of eighteen Efflatoun exhibited her seminal work Young Girl and Monster (1941) alongside the avant garde Art and Liberty Movement.

Efflatoun foresaw her impending imprisonment, in March 1959. For the first time in Egyptian history, women were imprisoned for their political beliefs. Alongside twenty-five female political activists, Efflatoun was secretly arrested by Gamal Abdel Nasser's regime. Inji Efflatoun was imprisoned for four and half years, and used her paintings as a negotiating tool. In July 1963, she was released from incarceration and painting became her main activity until her death in 1989.

The present work which was painted in 1961 is the only work to ever appear at public auction from her period of imprisonment, which is considered to be one of the most important stages of her artistic development.

Her works from the prison period are characterised by their bold and textured brushstrokes, dark and expressive colours in an atmospheric and hypnotic trance. According to her memoirs it was in prison "that the reduction of her liberties enhanced her capacity for aesthetic appreciation, intensifying the wonder of even the smallest quantum of nature available to her gaze".

Saleroom notices

WITHDRAWN

Additional information

This auction is now finished. If you are interested in consigning in future auctions, please contact the specialist department. If you have queries about lots purchased in this auction, please contact customer services.
Buyers' Obligations
ALL BIDDERS MUST AGREE THAT THEY HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD BONHAMS' CONDITIONS OF SALE AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THEM, AND AGREE TO PAY THE BUYER'S PREMIUM AND ANY OTHER CHARGES MENTIONED IN THE NOTICE TO BIDDERS. THIS AFFECTS THE BIDDERS LEGAL RIGHTS.
If you have any questions about the Conditions of Sale, please contact your nearest client services team.
From 28 June 2025, the import into the EU of non-EU property of a certain age (and in some categories above a certain value) is subject to additional requirements. Under the relevant EU Regulation, it is the Buyer's sole responsibility to assess whether any Lot meets the criteria for import into the EU. The refusal of any required Import Licence or Importer Statement, or any delay in obtaining such Licence or Statement shall not give rise to the rescission or cancellation of any Sale, nor allow any delay in making full payment for the Lot.
Buyers' Premium and Charges
For all Sales categories, buyer's premium excluding Cars, Motorbikes, Wine, Whisky and Coin & Medal sales, will be as follows:
Buyer's Premium Rates
28% on the first £40,000 of the hammer price;
27% of the hammer price of amounts in excess of £40,000 up to and including £800,000;
21% of the hammer price of amounts in excess of £800,000 up to and including £4,500,000;
and 14.5% of the hammer price of any amounts in excess of £4,500,000.
A 3rd party bidding platform fee of 4% of the Hammer Price for Buyers using the following bidding platforms will be added to the invoices of successful Buyers for auctions starting on or after 6th July 2024 – Invaluable; Live Auctioneers; The Saleroom; Lot-tissimo.
VAT at the current rate of 20% will be added to the Buyer's Premium and charges excluding Artists Resale Right.
Payment Notices
For payment information please refer to the sale catalog.
Shipping Notices
For information and estimates on domestic and international shipping as well as export licenses please contact Bonhams Shipping Department.
- Modern & Contemporary Middle Eastern Art