Benedict Carter is a leading figure in the world of Islamic Art at Sotheby’s, where he heads the Islamic & Indian Art department. Recently this sector has seen a surge in auction activity, driven in part by the growing interest in the region’s cultural heritage and the expansion of new museums across the Middle East. Carter’s expertise is grounded in a solid academic background. He specialized in Islamic Studies and Arabic during his university studies and furthered his education with a focus on Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. His deep understanding of the Middle East is also bolstered by his time studying Arabic at the University of Jordan and the University of Alexandria. Carter is fluent in both Arabic and Farsi, a rare and valuable skill that enhances his connections with collectors and scholars across the region.
Beyond his scholarly knowledge, Carter is also a passionate art collector and expert. He is one of Sotheby’s leading authorities in Islamic Art and works closely with collectors from the Middle East and India. His personal collection includes Islamic art pieces, as well as modern works from the region and Indian art.
We recently sat down with him to discuss the current state of the market, the evolving definition of Arab Art, and the sector's potential for growth, as well as to gain his insights into the shifting dynamics of the art world and a keen understanding of Arab and Islamic heritage.
Saira Malik (S.M.):How has the perception of Islamic art evolved over the past decade, both regionally and internationally?
(B.C.): The past decade has been an exciting one for the Islamic Art field. We have seen the emergence of both new institutions in the Gulf region such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi and Qatar National Library, as well as the highly successful reinstallation of the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha. World record prices for Islamic Art have been made and broken numerous times at auction, and groundbreaking exhibitions have been held at major museums such as the Victoria & Albert Museum (Epic Iran; The Great Mughals); The David Collection (The Human Figure in Islamic Art) and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris & Dallas Museum of Art (Cartier and Islamic Art), to name only a few. Important loans have also been established between private collections and American museums such as The Kier Collection (Dallas Museum of Art) and the Hossein Afshar and al-Sabah Collections (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston).
Benedict Carter (B.C.): How does the market for Islamic art differ between the Middle East and Western countries?
(B.C.): The West is well stocked with significant public collections of Islamic Art. Among the foremost are the British Museum, British Library & Victoria and Albert Museums, London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Freer | Sackler Gallery, Washington D.C.; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, not to mention The Louvre in Paris, and the Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, and the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg and The David Collection, Copenhagen. Whilst some of these institutions continue to acquire, most of their core collections are rooted in the 19th and early 20th centuries, often as a result of large bequests by individuals. Whilst there are significant holdings of Islamic art in North Africa and the Levant such as the Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo and the holdings of the Topkapi Palace and Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul, the museums of the Gulf region are comparatively recent, beginning in the 1970s. At Sotheby’s, part of what we do is assisting with these great museum building projects that have come to the fore in the region in recent years.
(S.M.): What are some of the challenges when it comes to understanding Islamic art in the West and how can this be addressed?
(B.C.): For many people, at first glance Islamic Art can be both confusing and seemingly inaccessible – with a time span of is almost 1400 years, and such a huge variation in material, including Qur’ans, manuscripts and paintings, as well as ceramics, metalwork and woodwork, not to mention textiles and arms and armour. We also have to take into account that the materials stem from countries from Spain to China, and most of the countries in between. The West has some long established museums in Europe and the U.S., and these house some of the finest collections in existence so visiting the Islamic and Indian galleries is the best first step for anyone to begin to understand the depth and breadth of the field.
(S.M.): Can you talk to us about some of the ground-breaking exhibitions by Sotheby’s that have brought the arts of the Islamic and Indian world to the forefront?
(B.C.): For us at Sotheby’s we are generally focussed on auction sales, but we like to stage these as major events in the cultural calendar, and we receive visitors from all over the globe during the weeks that we are on view in London in October and April each year. More often than not we will have either a collection or a single piece of great beauty that will attract the attention of the public and the world’s media. The 1,200-year-old bronze Umayyad buck that we sold in our recent sale in October 2024 was a perfect example of this, as it was a timeless piece of art and history that captured the imagination of collectors and scholars from other fields beyond the Islamic market. This summer, we staged a non-selling exhibition on the evolution of Arabic calligraphy in our London galleries as part of Sotheby’s Hafla celebration of Middle Eastern art.
(S.M.): How is technology, such as digital platforms and social media, affecting the visibility and sale of Islamic art?
(B.C.): Social media platforms have greatly increased the visibility of Islamic art, as many scholars, enthusiasts, dealers, collectors and institutions share a constant stream of objects on view, for sale, recently discovered, on exhibition and freshly interpreted. For me, social media can be the quickest way to get the message out about an upcoming sale or exhibition, and we often film educational, art historical videos for the Sotheby’s Instagram in order to try and engage new and varied audiences who may be less familiar with our corner of the art market.
(S.M.): The auction record for an Islamic object has been broken twice in the last 5 years. Can you tell us about this and what it means for the future valuation of Islamic Art?
(B.C.): In my experience in the field, I have seen the auction sales become smaller in lot count, but higher in terms of quality of individual items. As with much of the art market, the competition at the top becomes ever more fierce and the demand for the finest museum-quality pieces only increases. So when an item appears that is fresh to the market, holds great finesse, beauty and provenance, the likelihood that it will achieve a top price and possibly set new ground, is elevated.
(S.M.): For collectors looking to invest in Islamic art, what guidance would you offer to navigate this evolving landscape?
(B.C.): We always say that ultimately you have to buy what you love, as there are no certainties in treating the field as an investment market. It is so global, with often very diverse and disparate sub-categories. However, for that same reason, good quality pieces can be found flying under the radar, and I feel that there are very good opportunities at the moment for private collectors. There are still blind spots, and an observant bidder can benefit if they have studied the catalogues and handled the pieces in person. I would always recommend not sticking to one particular sub-category in Islamic Art, but to look at different geographies and materials as there are often links across eras, dynasties and regions which is what makes the field so rewarding and fascinating.
At Sotheby’s, a large part of what we do prior to every auction is in-depth research and cataloguing, which is published for the public to read, and the staging of free exhibitions, alongside publishing editorial pieces and videos that aim to shine a spotlight on this rich category and make it approachable.
(S.M.): How do you believe Islamic art can facilitate cross-cultural dialogue in today's divided world?
(B.C.): The simple answer is yes, Islamic art can be a thoroughly unifying force if you look at some of the contexts in which pieces were created. A quick example of cross-cultural dialogue would be to examine the court of Norman King Roger I of Sicily in the 11th century. In order to maintain his stronghold of the region, he kept Muslims and Byzantine Greeks in positions of influence. As a result, they capitalised on their geographic location as a nexus of culture and trade. Some wonderful works of art, fusing Islamic and Byzantine decorative ideas were produced during this period as a result.
(S.M.): What are the upcoming auctions and exhibitions for this sector at Sotheby’s that we can expect to see?
(B.C.): Our next sales will be held in London in April 2025, with highlights being unveiled in a public exhibition in Dubai beforehand, alongside Modern & Contemporary art from Middle Eastern painters and sculptors.
Photo Credit: Sotheby’s Middle East
