33 - ISSAM AL-SAID (IRAQI 1938-1988)

ISSAM AL-SAID (IRAQI 1938-1988) UNTITLED inscribed Yunus in Arabic centre right; signed and dated Issam Al-Said 1962 in Arabic on the reverse mixed media on canvas 76.1 x 63.1cm (82.2 x 69.5cm framed) Property from a Private Collection, London Provenance HRH Princess Badiya Bint Ali bin Al Hussein Sloane Street Auctions Acquired from the above in 2024 by the present owner Exhibited Woodstock Gallery, London, 1962 Issam El-Said (born Baghdad) was the son of Sabah Nuri El-Said and Esmat Fahmi, and grandson of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri El-Said Pasha, both of whom died during the Iraqi Revolution of 1958. He earned a BA in Architecture from Cambridge in 1961, studied art in London, and began a PhD on geometric proportioning in Islamic architecture at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, which remained unfinished at the time of his death. Key sections of his thesis were later published by the Issam El-Said Foundation under the title Islamic Art and Architecture: The System of Geometric Design in 1993. El-Said co-authored books and contributed articles on Islamic art and architecture for international audiences. His creative pursuits, spanning painting, sculpture, calligraphy, design (including lamps, carpets, tiles, furniture), and architecture, etc reflected his dedication to Islamic cultural identity. The artist was also part of the Hurufiyya movement; by incorporating Kufi scripts into his creation, he addressed the traditional calligraphy from the perspective of Iraqi modern art. The present work from the 1960's illustrates the story of Yunus or Jonah and the whale, found in the Qur'an and Bible. The thick black loop can be identified as the body of the whale; whilst the black burst at the top-right is the tail and the big yellow oval in the middle is Jonah inside - or the light inside the belly of the whale. El-Said's works at the time were heavily influenced by verses from the Qur'an and were treated in a painterly technique, often with brightly coloured compositions or calligraphy set within spheres as seen in the present lot. Issam El-Said’s artworks are held in private and public collections worldwide including the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad; the National Museum of Modern Art, Amman, the Darat al Funun - The Khalid Shoman Foundation (Amman, Jordan), the Dalloul Art Foundation, Beirut and the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah.