Nasser Ovissi (Iranian, b.1934)

This magnificent painting by Nasser Ovissi demonstrates the strength of his early work. The subject matter and style is drawn from an Iranian tradition that stretches to back to the early Islamic era and beyond, the horses resembling those on Sassanian stone reliefs and silverware, and those of Seljuq ceramics, as well as bearing a relation to the "coffee-house" paintings from the earlier part of the twentieth century. These are decorated with patterns from carved wooden blocks (qalamkar) and embellished with abstracted calligraphy. Similar themes were embraced by Sadegh Tabrizi, as can be seen in the following lot.