Lot 93: PARVIZ TANAVOLI (IRANIAN, B. 1937) (i) Heech in Cage (ii) Hand of the Mount

PARVIZ TANAVOLI (IRANIAN, B. 1937) (i) Heech in Cage (ii) Hand of the Mountain Carver II (iii) Heech on Chair (iv) Heech (i) incised with artists signature in Farsi and number 2/5 (top left of the base) (ii) incised with artists signature in Farsi and date 2/6 (lower left of the base) (iii) incised with the artists signature in Farsi and number 3/10 (top left of the seat) (iv) incised with the artists signature in Farsi and number 2/5 (lower left of the base) each: polished bronze (i) 14 3/8 x 6¿ x 5 1/2 in.(36.5 x 15.5 x 14cm.); (ii) 8 x 14 x 7in. (20.5 x 35.5 x 18cm.); (iii) 10¿ x 6 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (25.8 x 16 x 12cm.); (iv) 8¿ x 9 x 3 7/8 in. (20.8 x 23 x 10cm.) Executed circa 2005, these works are numbered (i) two from an edition of fve; (ii) two from an edition of six; (iii) three from an edition of ten; (iv) two from an edition of fve

EXHIBITED: (ii) Dubai, Meem Gallery, Parviz Tanavoli and Abbas Kiarostami, 2009-2010 (another from the edition exhibited). (ii) Abu Dhabi, Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi Festival Middle Eastern Modern Masters, 2010 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated in colour unpaged). (ii) London, Austin/Desmond Fine Art, Parviz Tanavoli Poet in Love: 1970s-2011 Works from the Artist’s Collection, 2011, no. 20 (another from the edition exhibited, illustrated in colour, p. 40).

LITERATURE: C. Pocock, Parviz Tanavoli Monograph, Dubai 2010 (another from the edition illustrated in colour, p. 401). ‘Not long after I completed my academic studies I decided to free my mind from all my acquired knowledge. Agitation and anxiety flled my days. I was in search of something that could not be found. At last, one day I found the shape I was searching for. This shape was devoid of all that I had previously known. It had a slender fgure, supple and sinuous, the eyes overfowing with meaning; but there were no other features on the face. To this fgure, I gave the name heech (nothingness) and upon its form I bestowed my heart.’ (Parviz Tanavoli quoted in London, Austin/Desmond Fine Art, Parviz Tanavoli Poet in Love: 1970s-2011 Works from the Artist’s Collection, p. 64).

PROVENANCE: Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner.