Islamic & Indian Art Specialist

Our client is looking for an Islamic and Indian Art Specialist to contribute towards the consigning, valuating, cataloguing and selling of Islamic and Indian Art in line with the department and business year-on-year growth objectives 

Sales have featured a varied selection of artworks dating from the 7th century to the first half of the 20th century and covered a broad geographic area from the Mediterranean shores through to Southeast Asia and China. The auction house has offered works on paper such as manuscripts, paintings and drawings, as well as works of conventional craftsmanship such as ceramics, textiles, arms and armour, glass, jewellery, metalwork and lacquer items.

We are looking for a specialist who can re-establish this department and take it back to the prominent position that it once held in the market. The specialist would be responsible for curating two specialist sales a year, plus one thematic sale.

Context

Our client is a privately owned, well-established London auction house which is fast becoming a major player in the international art market. With 20 specialist departments, regular dedicated and themed sales are held across a breadth of specialisms. As a busy, mid-market auction house, our client hosts around 80 sales per year, mainly in their Gallery and Saleroom.

Areas of Responsibility

Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Lead on the consignment and sale of Islamic and Indian Art, ideally putting on two specialist and one thematic sales per year
• Respond to incoming walk-ins, written, phone and email enquiries, and online valuations to determine auction estimates and sale potential, along with the Head of Department (HOD)
  • Participate in external valuations at the request of the Head of Valuations

• Determine provenance, authenticity, value, condition, and marketability of items
• Work with the photography team on the photography of the art works
• Catalogue consignments and lot the sales
• Work with the team on pre-sale exhibition set-up and post-sale view breakdown
• Outreach to potential buyers to provide condition reports, send interest emails, and attend weekend exhibitions, to market and sell the sale
• Provide the full after-sales analysis, and implement any agreed changes

General

• Ensure compliance with all internal policies and procedures and any relevant external bodies or processes
• Participate in organisation-wide meetings, activities and processes, and develop internal contacts, networks and interactions as appropriate
• Actively participate in and suggest events, valuation days, and other functions to represent the company and the department
• Carry out other duties as required by the Managing Director, Executive Directors and Associate Directors

Person Specification

Qualifications skills and experience

• A qualification relevant to the field
• Proven knowledge and experience in the field of Islamic and Indian Art gained both through study and work, preferably at an auction house
• Proven ability to develop relationships with the major collectors, dealers, auction houses and galleries
• Excellent writing skills in English, and ability to combine an understanding of the material with a commercial sense of marketing and promoting value
• A degree of fluency in a relevant foreign language, for example Persian or Arabic (desirable)
• Excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills, including first class spoken English
• Ability to work to tight auction deadlines, balancing photography, cataloguing, sale organisation, marketing and promotional details
• Experience working on projects of all sizes, long- and short-term; demonstrated ability to prioritise a variety of concurrent projects
• Excellent knowledge of the Office 365 Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Outlook etc)
• Ability to learn the Auction House systems, with excellent IT proficiency
• Superior customer service skills
• Strong follow-up skills with attention to detail
• Ability to thrive within a fast-paced team environment