TEHRAN – Iranian painter and art critic Aidin Aghdashlu has said that a team of top experts must check the authenticity of artworks before they go on sale at auctions.

“Fakes and forgeries do exist in the art world. For example, I wrote an article about a Christie’s sale, in which 20 fake works were offered,” Aghdashlu told the Persian service of ISNA published on Wednesday.

Pointing to the Tehran Auction, Aghdashlu said that the auction enjoys a world standard.

“Therefore, if there is some criticism about world auctions, the Tehran Auction is no exception,” he added.

“In a country like America, about 450 auctions are held and in England about 200, while in our country there is only one auction and this is not enough. Additional art auctions need to be established in the country to develop greater competition,” he noted.

The art critic further noted that artworks vary in price and quality everywhere in the world like Sotheby’s and Christie’s, which means art auctions are different from art exhibitions and biennials.

“The Tehran Auction enjoys a world standard considering its performance, its artworks and its catalogs, what I believe needs to be done is that the artists, experts and journalists must provide the public with more information about art auctions and how they are being run,” he asserted.

The 10th edition of the Tehran Auction was held on Friday, in which an untitled mirror mosaic by Monir Farmanfarmaian was the most expensive works having fetched 40 billion rials (over $950,000).

Photo: Aidin Aghdashlu in an undated photo. (ISNA/Erfan Khoshkhu) 

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