TEHRAN — The 25th edition of Tehran Auction will offer 100 works by 80 artists on Friday, with pre-sale estimates ranging from 354 billion to 423 billion tomans ($2 million-$2.5 million), as Iran’s leading art sale expands its focus to include modern, classical and traditional Iranian art.
The sale, titled “Modern, Classical and Traditional Iranian Art,” will take place at Tehran’s Parsian Azadi Hotel and feature paintings, sculpture, calligraphy, miniatures and carpets in what marks the auction house’s second edition devoted to a broader spectrum of Iranian art beyond its traditional emphasis on modern and contemporary works.
A total of 100 lots by 80 artists will go under the hammer, including works by six women artists—Parvaneh Etemadi, Behjat Sadr, Farideh Lashai, Leyly Matine-Daftary, Elaheh Khatami and Leyla Barzegar Yarmuhammadi—whose eight works account for a small share of the sale’s offerings.
The auction’s top lots are expected to be “High Horizon” by modernist painter Sohrab Sepehri and “Mohabbat” (Affection) by calligrapher and painter Muhammad Ehsai, each carrying an estimate of 28 billion to 30 billion tomans. Sepehri’s oil painting dates to around 1967, while Ehsai’s large-scale calligraphic work previously appeared at both Tehran Auction and Christie’s London.
Among the sale’s notable departures from previous editions are several carpets and works of calligraphy, despite earlier guidance from Tehran Auction that traditional handicrafts were generally outside its remit unless they represented landmark examples of innovative or historically significant artistic practice.
One highlight is an illustrated Caucasian carpet from northwest Iran, dated 1331 AH (1913 CE), estimated at 6 billion to 7 billion tomans, while a contemporary calligraphic work by Mojtaba Malekzadeh is expected to fetch 300 million to 400 million tomans.
According to the organizers, Tehran Auction defines “classical” Iranian art primarily as works by Kamal-ol-Molk, his leading pupils and artists associated with his school, whose paintings bridged the transition from Persian miniature traditions to modern Iranian art. 
The “modern” category encompasses artists who introduced modernist concepts to Iranian art from the 1940s onward, while the “contemporary” section includes later generations working beyond modernist conventions.
The auction traces its origins to 2012, when its inaugural sale realized 2.15 billion tomans. Its most recent edition, held in October 2025, recorded sales of 147.2 billion tomans, underscoring the continued growth of Iran’s domestic art market despite broader economic challenges.